Moan, moan, moan

[ZIZI]

Well I live at the end of a village by Heathrow Airport. It is the village that one of the discoverers of the Gunpowder plot lived in and we have a fourteenth century church which he is buried in with his wife. Probably does not sound relevant but it just illustrates that this is a small village (albeit now connected by housing to a much larger area) and the road through the village is very narrow. There is only parking on one side of the Hugh street and that is half on the pavement.

Our village has a lorry ban which is constantly being ignored and right now there is an enormous lorry parked on the pavement and has been for over an hour because the lorry cannot get around the mini roundabout to get on the main road. This means that traffic in the village is held up and goodness knows how long it will be there as it is getting dark now. I expect the people living on that bit of road are a bit fed up as he will probably have his engine running and when we have had them sitting outside ours the house vibrates.

Lorries ignoring the ban often knock over the street signs and bollards and also often hit parked vehicles. My car has been damaged more than once during the night (not my new one yet) and it is not unusual to walk to the village and see damage to vehicles.

The proper lorry route would take all of ten minutes more allowing for traffic lights. I have, in the past, been in touch with the local councillors asking why the ban is not enforced and one of them suggested that I stand at the end of the village in hi vis and lecture the offending lorry drivers! I sarcastically responded that of course I could do that and if he would like to provide a bucket of asphalt and a shovel I could fill in the pot holes as well. He did not respond.

[Plantaholic]

We have a narrow lane coming to the village and it clearly says not suitable for heavy vehicles but they ignore it and we all get stuck, just a few passing places. We have two other roads but I presume their sat navs send them up the narrow road.

[Glammanana]

Such a pity that the lorry is not parked outside said Councillors front door he would soon get something done then I'm sure.You should run for Council Zizi you would be so good at it.

[Plantaholic]

Good suggestion Glamm, definitely Zizi for Council when she retires

[ZIZI]

Ooh no ladies I am afraid I would probably get drummed off the council within days for not keep my mouth shut!

[Gemini]

I'd back you too Zizi

[Nanto2girls]

Yes, ZIZI for the council.

[Daisy]

Those lorries must be a nightmare. Most of our roads weren't built for any motorised traffic, let alone those huge 16 or 18-wheel monsters. I presume there are width restriction signs (and I know they get ignored). We have a very low bridge on one route out of our rural village and every few months something gets stuck there! Fortunately if they stop before they go under the bridge they can reverse back up the hill and turn into a t-junction to go back on to the main road, but it's clearly marked with the height restrictions, and also that it's liable to flooding, but again people look at the water and think it can't be that deep - and then get stranded!

Zizi - you exactly the sort of person your village needs on the council! A good pro-active councillor or mayor can make a difference. My DIL2 had complained at her local town hall about the footpath from their row of houses to the road and the car parks (there's no road to their door). It's partly tiled and when it's wet, or even damp, it's like an ice rink. Plus roots of inappropriate trees planted when the estate was built in the 80s have made the tiles uneven, and added to that the one and only inadequate street light didn't work. When she complained to the town hall they just brushed her off, including a classic - "there's no street light there"!! Yes there is, and it doesn't work. No, there isn't one - we've got no record of it. Photographer DIL produces evidence! Still no action, the staff at the town hall basically told her it wasn't their problem. This conversation and it's variations had gone on for several months.

One day she spotted the mayor and their town councillor on the recreation ground across the road from their shop and went out to see them. To her surprise they asked if she could show them where it was and they'd go and look. They agreed it was dangerous - the light was fixed and a tarmac section by the tree was resurfaced (since destroyed by Virgin cabling!) But when they investigated the slippery path, they found it was a County Council-owned path, not the town council. The CC deny it exists and won't send anybody out to look - why would they when it doesn't exist. Periodically the mayor gets in touch with DIL to say he's still trying, bless him. But, he did get the light fixed and the tarmac area. So we now go into another winter with a dangerous, uneven skating rink to walk on.

[ZIZI]

Years ago when we had the shop an MP called Toby Jessel, long gone Tory for Richmond (Surrey), bounded into my shop like a spaniel on cocaine (not that I know what that looks like) while I was serving a customer for family funeral flowers. I quietly asked him to wait but he started banging on about politics not noticing the distress of the lady I was with. Our counter was a big purpose built shelf type thing so I went to the customer side and sat the lady down, I took the arrogant pr@ts arm and “gently” asked him to leave the shop quietly or I would make a big noise (press outside). He left.

I have fought yellow lines outside of our property which were approved years before we moved in but not laid until five years after we moved in, that took seven years before resolution and there were a lot of letters and arguments and disputing of parking tickets (all won). I also let the council know when the estate agents sell a property over the road in the cul de sac and then put sold signs all over the public space at the end of the road, the council do move them quickly, they are an eyesore when I look out of my kitchen window.

I would not want to be a councillor if I am honest, I would rather be a person that the people who do want to be councillors think “OMG it is her, better do something about this then”

[Daisy]

Fair enough, Ziz. You are a force to be reckoned with (in a very nice way, I must stress).