ANOTHER WEE ROOM GETS CLOSED BY TDC

Readers will be familiar with TDC's desire to make life difficult for bladder stressed locals and visitors alike by closing our public toilets around the Isle. There is, however, another wee room in the Council Offices that has now been closed.

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The wee room I am referring to is the one that used to be available to the electorate to have a private consultation with their Cllr to discuss sensitive matters. My TDC 'Mole' reports that this very small room has been emptied of basic furniture and closed.  Not surprisingly, this has caused some upset to hard-working Cllrs who now have to find some place in The Gateway/Library to have a private conversation with their ward electorate, presumably in public!

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The surprising aspect, resulting from Strife's enquiries, is that it would appear that our Cllrs were not even consulted or informed about this matter. I find this strange.

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Whilst some 'Ezekiel' Party members wouldn't know what a member of their electorate is,  let alone talk to them, ( if their inability to answer letters or e-mails is a guide), there are some hard-working Cllrs, (Ind, Lab & proper Con) who do and have made use of this private consultation room. Perhaps it would be nice to see our elected representatives at least consulted on this matter?

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I leave you with Edna's thoughts on the subject. She has some odd ideas at times..

"Mr Biggles, my mate Martha, who cleans in TDC, says they 'ave probibly cleared that small broom kubbard of a room art , soze they can bug it and 'erewag on cosy chats wen they let them Cllrs back in. She also says she don't think much of them new carpets; starting to 'ball up' orlready it seams".

INGRID SPENCER ACTUALLY SEEN IN DANE VALLEY WARD!

The third but different glossy from The 'Ezekiel' Party party arrived through the  letterbox this morning amid rumours that 'Our Leader' , no less, was out and about in Dane Valley Ward , 'mob handed'  (his MP and even 'Wannebe Worrow included) and if rumours are correct,  his selected candidate Ingrid Spencer.  At least she will now know where Dane Valley Ward is.

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I am amazed at the collective claims by some of the candidates!

Well if Ingrid introduced wheelie bins to my part of the Ward she must have done this before May 2007 and it doesn't say much that they only arrived earlier this year. As for improvement to street cleaning claimed by 'Your Ezekiel Council ',  Bertie's neighbours took 6 weeks of badgering TDC in May to get the road cleaned ONCE this year; deteriorating standards of street cleaning is the reality but we live in the world of 'New Speak'.

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I was unaware that we had a secretive 'Trinity Research Centre' in Dane Valley Ward that was backed by 'Your Ezekiel Council'. (See pic above)

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Members of the 'Strife' team scurried around the ward, tripping over Ezekiel Party and Labour Party canvassers and leafleteers, looking in vain for this worrying research centre. Edna our tea-lady came to the rescue:

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" Mr Biggles, i fink that centre thing that Mr Ezekiel's Council is talking abart  in that leaflet is The Holy Trinity Church Resource Centre'; not a bleedin Research Centre! Just shows you, dunnit, how they carnt even get that right. Just shows that they are just  wot Mr Ezekiel called that nice mayor at The Winter Gardens."

I did try to tell her that there are still some genuine Conservatives in TDC and that they are not all necessarily the same, but she wandered off muttering something rude under her breath.

TDC'S THIRD MENTION IN 'PRIVATE EYE' IN 12 MONTHS?

The 'Ezekiel' Party in Thanet continues to attract scorn from Private Eye, let alone from the proper Conservatives at KCC!

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Click on the item if you have trouble reading it. This is the third time that 'Rotten Boroughs' has given some space to TDC in the past 12 months. Perhaps it's time for 'Eye' to run a regular feature on Thanet District Council under The 'Ezekiel' Party.

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Rumours reaching my ears are that Bertie may have to find another name for Thanet Conservatives soon. Can anyone confirm that 'Our Leader' intends to leg it towards the sun in the Med in the Spring 2010 as our House Martins, Swifts and Swallows head back to us?

HOW MANY STAFF AT TDC ARE WORKING FROM HOME?

For those who have tried to contact officers at TDC and have either left an answer-phone message that has not been replied to or have been asked to ring back; then often been unable to talk to the officer you wished to,  did you ever imagine that TDC has an agreed 'Home Working' Policy?
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It would seem that TDC is being very reluctant to admit this policy and just how many officers are involved and at what level.  It would seem that any officer can apply to be home -based as a contractual arrangement and that others are involved in 'informal home-working' arrangements.
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The excuse being offered for 'informal home-working' is that this is needed to meet specific deadlines or manage 'work-load' pressures.
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So what is the true situation at TDC?  The tax-payer has paid for refurbishment, new furniture , new carpets and new windows so that staff can work at home?
I have no complaint about highly paid Directors and Senior Managers taking work home after normal working hours and working into the night or at week-ends, many of us have had to do this in the public and private sectors, so why shouldn't they?
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This cosy arrangement at TDC is an insult to hard working and often less well paid Council Tax payers and should be stopped. Can you imagine other public sector workers at the same game? The mind boggles at the thought?

e.g. Where is Blue-Watch today and why aren't they responding to the fire at Dreamland? " All on 'home-working today, Guv!".  Why is Form 8 S  not being taught History today? " Their teacher is working at home today, Head, "   Why is PC Smith not dealing with that fracas at Westgate Station? " It's his day at home, Superintendent!".
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I hope that those who are in business or self-employed in Thanet, will contact their Cllrs and express the outrage and disgust they might feel about our Council employees being allowed to work 'at home'!

UPDATE -THU 26 NOV
I could barely restrain my laughter, this morning.
Yesterday I rang Planning at TDC on behalf of my daughter,concerning her simple planning application. I was put through to the officer dealing with the matter.  He was not in but I left my enquiry with a request for him to ring me, on his answerphone. As I had not received a reply by late this morning, I rang his direct number again and received his telephone recorded message yet again.. I declined to leave a message and instead rang the main Planning Office.  I was told that ..xxx... was not in AS HE WAS WORKING AT HOME! Barely stifling a hoot of laughter, I passed my request for him to contact me and was assured this would be e-mailed to him and that he would then ring me from his home! As yet, still no call from this hard working officer, 'working from home'.

DANE VALLEY WARD - EZEKIEL PARTY IN A MUDDLE?

The door knocking and leaflet drops in Dane Valley continue at a great pace as The 'Ezekiel' Party ( I no longer regard our local Conservatives worthy of their proper title) promotes 'Our Leader's candidate.
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Despite Roger Gale MP out by himself; Cllr Martin Wise doing a solitary drop and even 'Woger' out on his 'tod' without 'Mowice' , the Ezekiel Party seems to be muddled. The Biggles' have had two identical leaflets and reports are coming in that some streets have been lucky enough to get no less than THREE identical 'Ezekiel Party' leaflets! The Labour, Lib Dem and Independent leaflet droppers seem far better organised. Bertie would be pleased to hear from anyone who has received more than 3 'Ezekiel' Party glossies.
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One would have thought that those running TDC might have been better organised in allocating leaflet drops to streets and preventing waste of resources, but on the other hand . . . . . . . .!

EUROFERRIES -UNABLE TO BOOK UNTIL 1 MAR 2010

Having seen ECR tonight ( www.eastcliffrichard.blogspot.com) and the news that Euroferries might not be starting until March 2010, Bertie tried to book a Bonanza Express crossing on their website. All dates from Nov 2009 to end of Feb 2010 came up with the same response - 'no sailing available'.
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However the site shows 1st March 2010 has a crossing available!
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I wouldn't want to move the BE across the Bay of Biscay at the present time but one does need to ask the question as to whether Fred Olsen's reported deadline was met and are we to see the BE have its Euroferries logo painted out again? It seems odd that this saga will have rattled on for a year by the time we hit March 2010. The Euroferries saga with Spirit of Ontario and the town of Rochester, USA went on for almost as long.
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In the meantime, Gusseppe (pictured above) down at Ramsgate, has a new sign. " Don't be let down for that short Christmas Break by Euroferries - Guiseppe's will get you to Boulogne sooner than they will, even if you have to help bail out !"

BRADGATE CARAVAN PARK - A FUN PLACE TO BE?

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I hope Bradgate Caravan Park does not mind me 'borrowing' pictures from its web-site. Bertie had not realised what a thriving place, Bradgate Caravan Park is, over at Lydden and about to have more 'holiday homes' than the homes in the village of Lydden, courtesy of TDC Planning Committte, contrary to TDC Planning Officer's advice.
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Please visit their web-site on www.bradgate.co. uk . At present, they show 16 mobile homes for sale ranging in price from £10,000 to £66,000 and if you want to ring them please do so on 01843- 833207.
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The season at Bradgate runs from 1st March to 17 Jan each year and one can be fully resident for 10 1/2 months of the year without paying Council Tax.
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What caught my eye and tied in with recent gossip, was that it has an 'excellent Club, with a pub atmosphere'. The Club is open from Thursday evenings to Sunday lunchtimes and I am told that the best night to be there is on a Saturday night, when " Bingo is followed by our own special disco."
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I have yet to go and experience a cracking disco at Bradgate and do not know if The Club is open to non-residents unless as an invited guest. Rumour has it that all sorts of Thanet's finest frequent this quiet countryside retreat with its 'Pub' atmosphere on saturday nights and that the disco is most enjoyable and professional. Must ask them who provides it as we have some serious anniversaries coming up shortly and whether the 'Biggles' tribe can descend en masse for a private function.
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I would delighted if anyone can tell me if 'The Club' is as good as I have heard and if the Saturday Disco is as good as reported to me. Having clubbed in Ibiza, Bertie feels that a good 70's and 80's disco can't be beaten and not many of them around these days.