An Angry Letter To An Authority
When Dan Gee heard the latest ‘politically correct’ move by his local parish council it all became too much…
Around cricket squares there is normally a rope (for health and safety reasons). The council was saying we had to take this down (well that’s what I thought, it was in fact the poles) so I wrote this letter in a fury of hatred and anger. When looking back on it, I can see it not only gets my point across, but it’s relatively stupid! By the way this had to be read out at the parish council meeting! MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…
Dear Chairman
On Sunday morning I went, like many others in the village, to the remembrance parade. As usual it was a respectful, thoughtful and meaningful event; I enjoyed attending it and recognising the bravery of the man and women before me who have given me the opportunity to be free. Sadly, this was the end of the positive feeling in that morning and for some of that day. Why? Had I lost my wallet? No. Had I read an article about a beaver losing its mother? No. The thing that had made me sad, angry, fed up, annoyed, irritated, frustrated, aggravated, exasperated and generally ‘not in a good mood’…was you, the parish council.After the parade; I walked to the recreation ground where I was going to have a drink at the clubhouse with my Grandmother and Father; on the way, I was rather annoyed by what I was told.
As I walked by your parish council ‘office’, which by the way (the next comment is completely tangential) something that would be far more appreciated if it were something like a chip shop where people could actually use it; the council ‘office’ seems to be something which only about four people have permission to use, provided they like wasting space which could be used for something for the VILLAGE. So, as I walked by the ‘office’ I was told by my Father, that you had informed the Cricket Club that the ropes had to be taken down as people who walk right through the middle of the park when its pitch black might walk into them and as a result fall over and break every bone in their bodies! OK, I have completely over exaggerated, but the point is clear: no one has ever walked into the ropes and reported it to anyone because they haven’t been hurt. In fact there is more than one part to the point, perhaps no one has ever complained because they realise that the ropes there are part of the village; if someone walked into the Post Office, they are unlikely to complain to anyone as they know it is there just like they would with the ropes.
Health and Safety is an ever-growing importance in many walks of life, especially with the quite ludicrous ‘sue culture’ of today. I work in The Old Greyhound and I have to abide by many health and safety regulations; I cannot serve a drink in the same glass, I cannot eat or drink behind the bar and I have to wash my hands regularly. There is nothing wrong with health and safety regulations as long as they are needed. Therefore I am sad to report that your ‘rope ban’ is about as needed as a spider is to a person with arachnophobia. If there have been many incidents of people hurting themselves on the ropes then perhaps you should impose this ‘ban’ but I know for a fact that in the seventeen years of me living here and in the ten years that I have been part of the Cricket and Football club, there has been no incidents that I can tell you about and I’m sure you have very few if none that you can tell me about. Health and safety is also (not surprisingly) about making sure things are safe and good for our health, so why then should I be forced to play on a wicket that would have even more punishment from the juvenile delinquents of the village? Why should I have to worry about getting hit in the face by a ball the rears up at a ninety degree angle? Why, as a bowler, should I have to worry that if I bowl a good ball, it may injure batsmen? And why as Sunday Captain should I have to worry that the name of Great Glen cricket club is going to be tarnished due to bad wickets, injuries and poor quality games? The ropes are there for a reason: to ensure the safety of cricketers, people play cricket for a reason: to socialise in a constructive and good natured way, why do they do this? So the youngsters that make up the tomorrow don’t turn into graffiti wielding, anti social vandals. (It seems clear in the past few weeks that thanks to the ridiculous amount of delays on the new facility for the Cricket and Football Club, you have sadly produced a generation of the aforementioned).
I apologise for the tone of this letter and if I have insulted I am sorry but quite frankly I feel insulted by the lack of foresight, realism and common sense used by the Great Glen Parish Council. I love living in Great Glen, but if this is the direction of it for the future then I would prefer to live somewhere else, without the lethargic, politically correct and ridiculous attitude that you seem to have adopted. Hopefully, I will be attending a meeting soon so I can articulate my views to you directly.
Yours faithfully
Daniel GeeP.S I liked the way the graffiti next to the parish council office was cleared up almost instantly while other parts of the village were left tattooed for nearly a week, care to explain?
(The council have now given the cricket club the option of new poles which are even more dangerous! (We have taken these poles!) Just shows you that although they have good intent, the council is too old and full of red tape rubbish! If someone younger and more forward-minded was on the council, this entire incident could have been avoided!)
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lol?