Simple Simon

Simple Tea Skimmed No Sugar Stirred, not shaken

It's really up to the Gobowen Youth Team to approach LJC for funding. There's a meeting on Tuesday at 7pm at the pavilion, and this topic is on the agenda, along with the rates the council charges for use of the pavilion changing rooms. The trouble is, people aren't communicating with each other. It's like there's 3 really hungry, bad tempered sharks circling each other ready to take a bite.

Perhaps I should name and shame....? It was Casper wot did it...right in the centre of the pitch. I'm not sure if dog crap is the worst. Broken glass from kids experimenting with how alcohol effects co-ordination skills can cause harm to careless walkers and young children playing on the climbing frames. Discarded lumps of chewing gum isn't nice either...and then there's the discarded bags of chips, crisps and fast food, all found on the playing field. I see a variety of dead wildlife, probably initially attracted by a plentiful supply of abandoned half-eaten food. I've removed a dead rat, a maggoting squirrel, a rotting crow and a shot pigeon!

It's amazing, but I still see people walking their dogs across the football field prior to a match on a Sunday morning! I've been removing litter before play starts only to look up and see a large dog hunkering down for a big, long dump in the middle of the pitch while the owner gamefully walks on with their nose in the air. I've also found carefully tied bags of poo discarded on the playing field hedges and even fresh deposits around the play equipment. To counter that, I also see good owners scooping it up...and I appreciate it can't be fun! But if you are going to excercise your dog in a public area where children are going to play, you should dispose of anything your dog leaves behind. Last winter I did get some complaints that the top of St. Martins Road, by the roundabout, was getting very dirty with dog mess, so I'm guessing that owners change routes when the weather gets colder.

There's an empty red telephone box in Hinford that doesn't appear to be used for anything. Could the Selattyn one be adopted by the school as a project? Perhaps it could be connected to the internet? What about installing an ATM (that would please Phil the Landlord). A petrol pump? A flower box during the summer monthes? A Christmas display in winter? A public loo?

Be careful...some of these old phone boxes can be bigger on the inside than on the outside.

As I understand it, the funding is already available and it's just a case of the location.

The goal post nearest the Sports Court has been taken down because the Parish Council thought it was unsafe. During the summer it was reported that I child in another part of the UK was killed by a collapsing goal post. The posts on the field are owned by the Gobowen Youth Team but used by everybody, including the Cross Foxes F.C. For many years the Council have grumbled darkly about the posts not being removed after the season at allow the grass to recover over the summer. The weather has taken its toll and all the posts are really rusty and in need of refurbishment or replacement. A bar had actually broken off the post that has now been taken down. So, this is the current situation: We're in the middle of the football season with at least 2 clubs wanting to use the pitch. The council cannot allow the broken post to be put up as they classify it as unsafe, the post remains on the field where it could cause a trip hazard for walkers and will continue to rust and decay, it is the property of Gobowen Youth Team but if it remains where it is I can see it being stolen for scrap. Somebody urgently needs to take responsibilty.

Yep, I visited last weekend. This will be the third week they've been there.

Okay, right...in a nutshell. A PACT presentation with some talk on alcohol free zones and doubts about the future of CSOs. Broadband in the area is patchy and is set to remain so for a number of months even though Shropshire Council have plans to improve the situation. Broadly speaking, the area youth who completed the survey are happy but they don't like litter. 13-14 year olds are the most unhappy (interestingly, 1 in 7 dwarfs are not Happy). Many kids have expressed an interest in having a permanant BMX/Skateboard track - but one was recently burnt down in Weston Rhyn (the same thing happened to one in Gobowen some years ago). A presentation on the Big Local Project, really stating their aims and objectives and how they're consulting with people (individuals), with a suggestion that they should consult with businesses to stimulate the economy. Some dosh was approved to various community projects (all getting a little bit less than what they had asked for). It was all topped off the some talk about the LJC Constitution and who gets to vote on what.