Sunday, January 06, 2008

The Poo Comittee

I'm sure you think you have never heard of this committee, but I'm willing to bet you have.
There are thousands of them up and down the country, but they all go under different names. It could be Dogwalkers Anonymous. Or Net Curtain Twitchers United. Or anything really.
They are made up of concerned locals, usually on a one issue matter. It could be the local hospital, or park, or joyriders, or almost anything, but they are the equivalent of the Vigilantes that the Police in particular are so against. They care about something and are willing to fight about it - quite often amongst themselves.
What they do do is make sure that issues don't just get ignored. They appear to be a largely Anglo-Saxon phenomenon. In Europe generally, issues are regularly co-opted by the local Mayor. If you have an issue, you can approach him/her and talk about it. Because he/she is elected, he/she has to listen. Here, the local Councils, whilst elected, are relatively emasculated. Even when a million people march against the War, or the banning of hunting with dogs, they are ignored. This latter, of course, is such a ridiculous piece of legislation that there is now more of it going on with more followers than there was before. It was always just a cynical ploy to divert attention from other problems.
But our local Poo Committee ( so nicknamed because it is trying to clean up our local park) is actually having a moderately successful time of it. The park is looking tidier and more welcoming. And with less dog poo lying about.
So this post is really a thank you to the people who have brought this about. Long may the improvement last.

1 comment:

Whispering Walls said...

Hurrah for the poop scoopers!