Bus stop clearways in Broadgate A Mad Proposal from the County Council

I have just had through the door a letter from the County Council asking for my views on proposed bus stop clearways in our street. Frankly I believe it is a mad waste of public money even to waste breath talking about this without even a smidgeon of local knowledge or common sense.

In six years of living in this street immediately opposite the bus stop in question I have not become aware of one problem or incident with the current situation. And there are now no buses after six or on Sundays anyway. I've not observed anyone parking in the bus stop bay that side of the road in an obstructive way during the day time.

Worse still from my point of view is that the Council are bothered with the stop on our side of the road, which to all extents and purposes is a phantom bus stop. It is there on the map they sent me. But are they not aware that the public bus service in Broadgate is a circular one and vehicles only pass one way and only require to stop on the river side to pick up and set down passengers?

Admittedly the bus stop on the opposite side in front of Number 38 is used once per day in term time only, by a school bus, and then only to set down a single passenger (my own daughter, provided she has not got off in town or stayed late at school). It hardly warrants the existing yellow lines, and is set back anyway in what looks like a parking bay. All we locals know it is never used ,and it is causing no problems if anyone parks there overnight or over the weekend or in fact at any other time.

So lets have some common sense and a big sign saying "you may park here free of charge at any time except between the hours of 3:45 and 4;15pm on weekdays in school term time!"

I nominate the LCC highways Department for the barmy bureaucrats of the year award!!!

[ACTS-TALK] Question

I'm following this discussion (on ACTS-Talk)
http://listserv.messiah.edu/scripts/wa.exe?A0=ACTS-TALK

with interest from a number of angles and concur with the general point about the sadness of the situation where sociology and other qualifications are commodified and imagination,
creativity and the love of knowledge and wisdom for its own sake, and for
the glory of God are crushed.

As you know I love researching and writing within the social sciences
(never quite willing to pigeon hole myself within the discipline of sociology!)
though I've recently more or less given up on it and returned to community
work and urban mission practice. One factor was the sense that the acdemic
world was pressing me and colleagues towards "publications in reputable
journals" for purely instrumental reasons and there was little real concern
about extending the frontiers of knowledge, developing new perspectives or
seriously influencing the way the world, the church or the policy makers,
and in our media dominated age little possibility of achieving it. And the
small amount of teaching I was involved in appeared to be mainly about
ticking boxes and ensuring the institution recruited students next year in
order to bring in the fees that would fund its expansion.

So I dropped back out into managing a community centre for the Salvation
Army, working with homeless people and trying to encourage and resource the
churches in this city to engage with the crucial social issues of our age.
I have to say though there is a sense that the churches on the whole are just
as influenced by consumerism, where despite some resistance the focus is on
marketing the gospel, or rather the experience of church... (some of the
themes of rational choice theory in sociology of religion do seem to fit
the evidence as I observe it.. though you won't be surprised I resit it on
theoretical and theological grounds). Anyway the older I get the more
radical my discipleship wants to become... not sure if its just a grumpy
old man remembering 1968 with nostalgia or something more Christ centred!) And
I rejoice in expressing my God given creativity and a sense of wonder and
worship by growing vegetables and taking photos as much as by taking part
in church services.

The other perspective is that of my teenagers.. preparing to go to
university. I am really heartened that our son (who has not yet made an
explicit personal Christian commitment), who is bright and gifted at maths
and IT has decided as he put it that he is more interested in "making a
difference to the world" than in just making money. So he is applying to do
courses in international relations. I'm a bit worried about some of his
political perspectives but at least it won't be banking or computer
software for him. While my daughter who is the creative arty one, and very zealous
in her faith, is wanting to do art, photography, textile design and might just
be persuaded to do English as a concession to the academic world (and she
is certainly capable of high grades). I guess we fear that her problem is she
will never get round to earning a living at the same time as she has no
sense yet of when to stop shopping (with our money!)

So it may be there are hopeful signs among the young and the old alike...
For me the crucial thing in our vocation as Christians in sociology is to
keep challenging the church and the world to make those vital connections
between the sociological perspective and the life of faith and discipleship
in a complex world.. So brothers and sisters keep up the good work and keep
the faith.

Shalom

Fw: uncollected dustbins the ineffieciency of Preston City Council

Dear Councillors

I sent the email below nearly a week ago. Nothing has been done about it. (not even a reply to the email) This morning I discover that one of the uncollected bins, full to overflowing for well over a week and still increasing has been tipped ouit and there is rubbish strewn all the way across the back ginnel. It is now going to cost the Council even more to come and clean it up before it becomes a pubnlic health issue.

Only trying to help you in your job but gwetting angry at the inneficiency and non response and the waste of council tax payers money

Greg Smith

----- Original Message -----

To: cleansingadmin@preston.gov.uk

Sent: Monday, July 21, 2008 1:14 PM

Subject: uncollected dustbins

Thank you for emptying our dustbin last Friday

Unfortunately two days later at least three dustbins belonging to various neighbours in the back ginnel behind our property are full to overflowing with several black plastic sacks on the ground bursting open. This is unsightly and fast becoming a health hazard.

We would be grateful if you could arrange an emergency collection of this trash and possibly take up the issue with the neighbours concerned as they are not very good at putting out and taking in their bins at appropriate times

Many thanks