Our local free 'newspaper' arrived over the weekend. It had an additional front/back page, in colour, telling us all about
RESPECT 2010
"ALL DIFFERENT ALL EQUAL"
Arrive early to avoid the queue!!!
World Big-Top*Community Stage*
Acoustic Cafe*Bollywood Cafe-Bar*
Playday & Activity Day*C0-Operative Village*
Healing Zone*Market Stalls*Fire Service Demos*
Campaigns & Communities*&More!
"All the elememnts of the city's annual celebration of diversity in a free two-day festival!"
RESPECT IN THE PARK"
(here be logos of the Co-Op, Unison, city council, county council, University, Police Service and County Fire & Rescue).
Well it all sounds jolly exciting and I can't wait to be entertained, free, by the 'Ugandan Worldbeat Collective' while supping Fairtrade drinks, taking care to avoid the Woodcraft Folk of course; the diverse local talent on the Community Stage might be fun though I'm thinking of complaining about the 'Arabesque Delights' which are reported to include bellydancing which is not appropriate AT ALL, especially as there will be children present. Amnesty International are sharing the Campaigns and Communities stall with recycling and the Hindu Temple while at the Co-Operative Village the Co-Op will be flogging their banking and insurance services.
I'll probably have to visit the Sensory Garden for some Complimentary Therapy if it all gets overwhelming.
Respect 2010 "The City's annual celebration of diversity to say NO to racism and all forms of prejudice"
Trouble is, this is probably one of the least diverse cities in the country, apart from the university our ethnic population (excluding a fair number of east Europeans who blend in well with the locals) is something like 1-2%, mostly hard at work in catering and retailing. We don't have a Hindu temple and as I examined the background pics I noticed that the large group of cheery Asians playing tug-of-war were not at the venue advertised, indeed they were not at any local place that I recognised. The picture was probably taken in Luton.
Of course it is not free at all, it is paid for by me, the Council Tax payer and must have cost a bloody fortune and how many hours did the lazy council wasters spend on this touchy feely oh so fucking righteous nonsense?
51 minutes ago
17 comments:
And that's the point, isn't it? It's not free - we are playing for it. And not just directly. If the Police have to be there, casting a merry and inclusive eye over the jolly tinkers lifting your wallet then they aren't doing their proper job somewhere else.
By 'proper job' of course I mean real Gene Hunt policing *before* he turned out to be St Peter.
Not sure about the tug-of-war, though. Isn't that competitititivist or something equally horrible, and going to emotionally scar the losers for life?
Don't worry Banned - this is the sort of thing on the LibServatives' list for the chop. At least, I think that's what they said!
The tug of war people were probably all pulling on the same sideMr Eye
not only is it not free, those council staff in attendance on the day will be getting triple time and days off in lieu for "working" at the weekend.
Goodnight Vienna We live in hope but the Celebrating Diversity culture is like the proverbial ship of state, steaming in the wrong direction and it will take many years to alter its course.
Banned, get yourself organised! Hire a coach, and ferry a load of 'multi ethnic' thugs from south London in to mug, stab and/or rape people.
How much money?
How many hours?
Who cares? They don't. Your money's free, there's always more of it where the last lot came from. Just increase the council tax a bit - oh, dear they can't do that this year can they? What a shame.
Hopefully we might start to see some of this dross curtailed - but I'm sure they'll try stopping something high profile first (elderely care, schools, libraries etc) before anything that should really be chopped.
Your very colourful description left a very bad taste in my mouth.
If I were there I would have to decline on the festivities.
Sounds like more fun than morris dancing!
I hate PC-ness but welcome anything that brings folks together and strengthens a feeling of community. Strong communities have far fewer issues with crime and anti-social behaviour; these ultimately cost us a lot of money and take away our sense of well-being.
There are plenty of far more idiotic ways that councils waste our money than this.
It sounds like our Earth Day with a different name ... what a crock of s_ _ _.
What a waste of time and money!
I hope your neighborhood doesn't get over-run by
"free" loaders, Banned!
Top idea Mark Wadsworth, most of the ethnic groupies around here have been no closer to an Interesting & Diverse Community than Eastenders. A cheaper option would be to find out which local holiday resort they send the bad lads to as reward for their anti-social behaviour and bus them in from there.
John R Good move by Davenick to ban council tax rises but it won't last.
I have a very good idea which high profile local front line services will get the chop first and it won't be junkie rehabs, criminal halfway houses or single mums co-ops!
I know of one local family who have been told that the council intend to relocate their disabled childs day care treatment to a centre in a town twenty miles away, on demanding to know why they were referred to the Freedom Of Information Act.
Hi Christopher, Thank you for the compliment, I shall likewise be avoiding the puke inducing event.
btw, for my American readers the Woodcraft Folk referred to are a communist simulacrum of the Boy Scouts, but very girly.
Cambridge Lady Welcome as always. I take your point but this is fake "community cohesion", apart from children and those there for the beer, this event will all be about the local great and good of the Righteous proving to each other just how Right-On to each other.
We used to have a proper annual community festival, the City Carnival in which all manner of local groups contributed as they saw fit and which was wildly supported both by city residents and bus loads of county visitors.
It is no more, Banned by the busybodies on the grounds that a few silly kids threw, rather than tossed, coins at the participants.
Woodsterman Hi, hope you enjoyed your holiday; same ethos as your Earthday and you can say "crock of shit" on this blog without fear.
Hi Bunni I'm sure that the children dragged along and the boozers will have a great time so perhaps not a complete waste of time and money but as a political exercise it certainly will be.
Where I live now reminds me of the area of north London that I grew up in, no-one asked me if I wanted that to become "Interesting & Diverse" so I certainly won't be celebrating the concept down here.
I am so fed up with these Lefty twats ramming diversity down my throat at the taxpayers' expense, mate, I don't want it, I don't need it and I would love to see the whole bloody thing scrapped. Fortunately, the touchy-feely Con-Dem-Nation may have to do just that as they are so strapped for cash - otherwise I wouldn't want to bet on it!
Too right Barking but it's getting worse and Davenick won't do anything to stop it. Today I met a young professional chap who told me that he is the only one of his group of university friends who has not fucked off out of the country.
Let's assume that means 15 of Britains brightest and best lost to the nation. Let's imagine another group, incoming Somali pirates, Albanian gangsters and Chinese slave workers, 15 in all.
15 in, 15 out so no overall change, move along nothing to see.
Did we actually have an election on 6th May? I seem to remember new people are in charge now. But Labour seems to control all of the councils, on postal votes of course. Would someone actually ask Africans, Caribbean people and Asians what we think of this nonsense?
Suburban Voter, for some strange reason Labour increased their votes and representation at the simultaeneous local council elections, dunno why?
Sounds like shady election counting. It's worse than Crook County, IL. PS: Thanks for the h/t on your drinking cartoon, it looks great up there! Cheers.
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