“A tall stone cross stands at the end of Shepperton High Street, in old Middlesex, and at its foot are the names of 60 local men who gave their lives in the First World War. It was put up in 1921. Another 30 names were added after the Second World War. The Women’s Institute, hearing that the council hoped to save £14,000 by doing away with flowers round the memorial and sticking to grass, volunteered to tend the flowers themselves. They were told by councillors that it would be too dangerous.
Too dangerous – tending flowers by a war memorial? No, too dangerous crossing the road to the roundabout on which the council chose to leave the memorial. Never mind that anyone walking from Church Road to the High Street must cross the same leafy road. Was it for this that men gave their lives – for a land fit for heroes who are not allowed to cross the road? “
By: Lincoln 7 - 8th July 2011 at 10:40
Kev. You Missed the point. I am not in any way shape or form, likening us to Lybya, or Syria. Just making the point that we Brits, tend to accept anything that is thrown at us, without question. I am sure that there are things you would like to change, but cannot, so you just put up with it.Like your recent trouble with the Bank nurses?.
Regarding the war memorial, if the Council is whinging about savings of £14.000 per annum, they are hardly likely to spend god knows how much to move it to another site, the land of which may well have to be purchased, prepared, planning permission obtained etc.
Like I said before, it would be intereting to see what the Councils expences for themselves is. More than £14.000.
Jim.
Lincoln .7
By: kev35 - 8th July 2011 at 10:22
I am slowly realising why in some Countries population, are taking to the streets in protests over some of the stupid beaurocratic decisions the ones in power are making, however it could never happen here could it, we are well known for our laid back attitude.But Camel, straw, and back, spring to mind.
Jim.
Lincoln .7
That is quite a ridiculous statement both in and of itself. If you’re referring to Countries such as Libya and Syria then I think those populations might just consider what they are trying to achieve (and dying for in the process) to be of slightly more import than whether the WI are allowed to tend a flower garden in one of Southern England’s pleasant locations.
Regards,
kev35
By: kev35 - 8th July 2011 at 10:17
Lincoln.
I suspect the Memorial was in the middle of the road when erected 90 years ago. I imagine no-one back then imagined for a minute that transport would have progressed in the manner it has leading to the current traffic situation that we face.
Would not the same Council be the ones who gave planning permission in the first place, for the memorial to be errected?.
I think it’s pretty certain that it wouldn’t be the same Councillors as they’d all be over 100 years old now:rolleyes: and I don’t think it’s the same Council either as it was, I believe, in Middlesex previously but now in Surrey.
Misha.
I based my assumption re cost savings on the wording of the original post by SH. I didn’t notice the alternative wording in the Mail article.
I can see the point regarding the Council being sued as we live in such a litiginous society today. However, that War Memorial should be considered a civic amenity. It was placed there for the people of the Borough. I visit many War Memorials and I have to say that for the majority there is no significant problem accessing the site. But in this case, if it is deemed too dangerous for members of the WI to access the site to tend a flower garden then it is too dangerous for the public to access the Memorial for the purposes of photography or simply to pay their respects. Surely, one is no more dangerous than the other?
Put simply, if it is considered too dangerous to access the Memorial because of problems associated with crossing the road to the site safely then surely it is beholden upon the Council to move the Memorial to a place of no less prominence where it can be accessed safely by all.
Regards,
kev35
By: Sky High - 8th July 2011 at 07:07
The original source of the report was the local newspaper so I am not sure what its viewpoint might be. The implication of your remark is that you do. Or perhaps you thought the source was the Daily Mail…ah, of course!;)
Perhaps it’s time elected officials stopped running away from the fear of legal action and stood their ground for common sense. Society is only developing the way nit is because spineless officials allow it to.
By: Lincoln 7 - 8th July 2011 at 00:17
Personaly, a WW1 memorial, has by definition, been there for decades.
I would liken it to building the same memorial at Heathrow, then putting the main runway so that the memorial is smack in the middle of it.;)
Jim.
Lincoln .7
By: MishaThePenguin - 7th July 2011 at 22:32
I guess there are several things to consider with this. One is the source of the report – which will clearly have a particular viewpoint. The second is that the report doesn’t actually say that the memorial itself costs £14,000 to maintain. it actually says it will help save £14,000 in fees – one would therefore assume that this is part of a broader plan to save money across all gardening activities the council is involved in. However as with point one we shouldn’t let facts colour our judgement should we?
The final point is, you can apply as much common sense as you can to situations such as these but past events show that as soon as someone does something stupid and is injured they will be straight round to the solicitor trying to claim. That all costs the council money whether the claimant wins or loses – and then the people shouting loudest about this particular situation will be the same people shouting loudest about councils “wasting” cash.
I would respectfully suggest that the ones making the decisions are making them clearly on the basis of how society is developing today and this is more a reflection on what kind of country the UK has become rather than the “idiocy of elected officialdom”.
As an aside – those suggesting it is the “idiocy of elected officialdom” what research have you done into the responsibilities of councillors and officers and the likelihood of being sued etc. if adverse events happened??
By: Lincoln 7 - 7th July 2011 at 13:55
I am slowly realising why in some Countries population, are taking to the streets in protests over some of the stupid beaurocratic decisions the ones in power are making, however it could never happen here could it, we are well known for our laid back attitude.But Camel, straw, and back, spring to mind.
Jim.
Lincoln .7
By: Sky High - 7th July 2011 at 13:29
Probably some of the same people who stopped the WI doing the flower arranging in Gloucester Cathedral – they would have been in the building at the same time as the choristers!!!:rolleyes:
By: Lincoln 7 - 7th July 2011 at 13:24
Would not the same Council be the ones who gave planning permission in the first place, for the memorial to be errected?.
Jim.
Lincoln .7
By: Sky High - 6th July 2011 at 19:32
I suppose it was bound to end up in the Mail, but I found it somewhere else whist browsing…..
By: Lincoln 7 - 6th July 2011 at 19:00
I have never heard anything so stupid in my life. I am sure they could spare a
P.C.S.O. to assist, after all, thats about all they are good for.
Kev. I think at £14.000, per year, they must be exotic flowers flown in from some exotic Island. I would like to know just how much this Council spends on “Annual” jollies, bet they dare not publish those figures.:rolleyes:
If they consider it so dangerous, then why don’t they errect a barrier, like the central reservation on Motorways, to surround the roundabout.
I recon I need a bigger soap box, cos it’s things like this that turns on my Victor Meldrew mode.:mad:
Jim.
Lincoln .7
By: kev35 - 6th July 2011 at 17:40
Be stern. It’s from the Daily Mail, the story is anyway.
Aside from H & S considerations, I’m surprised that so few people have picked up on the fact that grassing over a four foot by two foot patch of straggly flower display will save the Council £14,000 oer year. Those must be damned expensive flowers.
Regards,
kev35
By: inkworm - 6th July 2011 at 12:53
Got a link to the report, time for a stern email I think
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July 6, 2011 at 12:29 pm