Newby. A ranting from the south coast.

[justskint]

Hi all.
This site is above me at the moment, so I hope I got this listing correct. As the name suggests I am now one of the poor people, turn the hot water on once a week, one light on at a time. started to grow my own veg last year, decided to dig out the roses and part of the lawn. This year it's the front garden lawn, small too! But I have the most awfull kind of wild grass growing in the borders, it has a lateral root system with short and fairly broad leaves growing in clumps.

I am at the present on a crusade to uncover financial waste and energy with the local council, I reckon 2 million quid anually down the tubes Why complain? I struggled to pay my council tax, do you know the horrid faceless cowards served me with a summons, now withdrawn thank goodness, but I decided to show the fools up in the local press with some effect ..

[Smooth Hound]

could be couch grass, which can be a pain, if you dig it out youll need to get all the bits of root out, then you could cover it with plastic or something, but you would need to keep itcovered for a yr or 2 to get rid of it, so probably best to dig it over again at the end of the yr and get all the bits of root out again.

[Millymollymandy]

Hi Justskint and welcome to the forum.

I've moved your posting to the welcome section as it is more appropriate!

[mrsflibble]

hi. welcome.

[gigglybug]

Hello and welcome

Amanda

[Marc]

Hi justskint - it does sound like you have couch grass. It can be a real problem around perennial plants, the good news is, in areas that you keep cultivated and weeded (like in most of the vegetable garden) it's not usually a problem. Just pull out as many of it's roots as you can whenever you dig.

[mybarnconversion]

Nice to have you here ... please tell more about your struggle with the council ... a favourite foe of mine as well ;)

[justskint]

Hi mybarnconversion and other readers.

Has this spot become a political platform? I shall start by stating that I am a pragmatist with strong anarchistic leanings.

This council hatred thing to me is quite rational; it’s financial incompetence on a horrendous scale, as well as the inability to take recycling or global warming seriously that upsets me, however I am not sure if incompetence and stupidity starts at the bottom from local to central government, or vice versa. When Brown states that new jobs have been created in the last 10 years he means it. New companies have been created specifically to serve local and central government.

EnviroComms. £160.000 paid for the year 07/08. “Follows best practice established by DEFRAâ€

[Martin]

someone after my own heart..........
Local government is a gravy train upon which the otherwise unemployable enjoy an easy ride to nice fat pensions, who chug along on £30k pa whilst basically stopping the rest of us from getting on with/enjoying life............(sole qualifications needed - crass stupidity, unbelievable arrogance and disdain for everyone else, and the ability to use "civilserviceboll*ckese" whilst keeping a straight face)
Do they sponsor/encourage local power generation initiatives, or try to cut expenditure ?- do they hell! - they build multi-million quid sports/event halls in sink estates which sit largely unused years after their erection (you'd need an armoured car to get in and out unscathed with the gunfire from the local crack dealers)
I once had the grave misfortune to carry out a commission for a local government officer - for several months, whenever I needed to contact him, he was "in a meeting", "away on a course", "on holiday", or "Judging council gardens" for which he was paid an inordinately large salary by US for apparently doing buggerall but spend even more of our money!
They build vast and luxurious poll tax palaces in which to celebrate their lifestyles, have their "meetings", and plan more misery for the rest of us - I have a simple answer - convert them all into social housing, and send them out to a good old fashioned grotty village hall for their meetings -
special catering?(four course meals with plonk!!!!) - stuff that! - corned beef sarnies and a tea urn and like it (or bog off and get a proper job!)
About bloody time civil servants were both! - civil, and servile!
I feel a touch better........

[justskint]

Hi Martin. This is a council near you.

[justskint]

Couch grass. I feel like lying down! Can I use Napalm?

[Martin]

surprise, surprise! - I suspect it's probably pretty much the same countrywide! Must admit, your council would appear to be slipping........
only 2 million????

[justskint]

2m is underestimating, total council budget 52.3m. It goes on and on.