Our Town??
 

As a result of recent events and happenings with regard to the running of this once proud town, resulting in a small ditty published in last weeks Observer. I have now decided that enough is enough... If the powers at be have any backbone then the repercussions this week should be interesting.... can i ask of any members with any amunition to help take my fight to them, to please let me know.... as a result of the poem I have had lots of people approach me with "did you also know's" and "have you heard about this?
This is one bee in my bonnet that will run and run

Re: Our Town??
 

Could you not reprint your poem here, for people that missed the Observer...or people like me who skipped over it?:o

Re: Our Town??
 

hopefully the poem is with this attachment

Re: Our Town??
 

“CARRY ON” ACCRINGTON

AN ODE TO A COUNCIL



Accrington born, bread, educated and employed!!
Accrington lived and mostly enjoyed,
Is it me, am I alone?
Too much has changed,
So please hear my moan.

To observe the Observer and read all about it,
A cover of headlines, you don’t really doubt it,
With horror and murder a too regular topic,
It’s difficult to know just how you can stop it.

My streets are patrolled by community wardens,
There’s too many “bad un’s” with too many pardons,
Why don’t I feel safe while walking at night?
On pavements too vacant and with too little light.

With hours that fit in with your average criminal,
The police station is manned to the ultimate minimal,
A police station that’s open office hours only,
“That” gives security to the week and the lonely.

A town that is dying from lack of a vision,
A council bereft of a useful decision,
The face of the leader so often a picture,
An increase in expenses making them richer.

A centre so full of charity and food,
A people neglected “it’s a horrible mood”
“Business is booming” we’re told with a glee,
Come shop in Accrington, parking is free.

My rubbish I sort into boxes and bags,
My bottles and cans, my paper and mags,
Recycle recycle it tops up the cash,
It doesn’t make money that goes in the stash.

Come to Accrington to fly tip your waste,
From all around Britain come here with haste,
Your half ton of tyres your bricks and your rubble,
But overfill your bin and then your in trouble.

More and more my council tax soars,
To pay for the things the council adores,
New markets new Broadway (the third in my life)
Hospital and care homes slashed by the knife.

More in tax this council demands,
More money for services out of our hands,
Yet closures and cut backs always appear,
How much MORE does it cost to run less than last year?

And now I read “Mr Britcliffe “wants more,
Another forty five pounds per household “what for”
More wardens and flowers to brighten up the town
It’s not only burgers that are served by a clown.

The night life has left here for pastures new,
A ghost town exists, except for the few,
With prices inflated to pay for the car,
And no change from notes passed over the bar.

So Accrington born and Accrington bred,
And Accrington I’ll be until I am dead,
If you had half the pride in the place that we live,
You would care for the people and learn how to give….

This will save you loading the doc file

Re: Our Town??
 

what an excellent poem jimmy, although i dont live in accrington anymore that describes it to a tee, keep up the good work mate :D

if the paper has a problem with that its because they know your telling the truth, your only thinking what everyone else is thinking,but you have the balls to write about it....good on ya

Re: Our Town??
 

Re: Our Town??
 

thanks people!
all i am looking for is winges, moans ..complaints.. anything about the way the town is run.... anything about the disintigration of the community....little bits of hearsay i can follow up. I just feel that we have been walked over for too long... i am not usually politically motivated but from now on I want them to know I am watching their every move.. and who can tell, if enough people are aware of it then it could make a difference ....

Re: Our Town??
 

Quite a true poetic message about the towns state of affairs from the true eye & not the rosey tinted ones councillors portray - hope it goes to some lengths in getting something improved here - i just hope they will listen!:D

Re: Our Town??
 

Hiya Jimmy, I think if you read through the various threads on this site you will pick up on a lot of moans about the town, its not all moans but HBC is discussed a lot, great poem by the way:)

Re: Our Town??
 

why not write to the observer again and quote accyweb??

Re: Our Town??
 

to what aim?

Re: Our Town??
 

PB does not post here but we know he reads us. ;)

Re: Our Town??
 

just point them in the direction of accyweb, it speaks for itself, most people being from accy and round about and we all have strong opinions on the town as you can see

Re: Our Town??
 

can't believe that accyweb hasn't had any observer space???

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Re: Our Town??
 

??? explain willow?

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do we know why???

Re: Our Town??
 

Probably because a lot of comments on accyweb are anti Britcliffe and HBC. :rolleyes:

Maybe if Roy put Britcliffes picture as the main website picture they'd get more recognition in the Observer :D

Re: Our Town??
 

but also the truth, and mp's dont seem to like the truth

Re: Our Town??
 

maybe if we got Roy to organise the HBC web site it wouldnt be the complete waste of money and usless crock of !?~# it is

Re: Our Town??
 

this is true but unfortunately roy aint here to do so

Re: Our Town??
 

Well if I was Roy I'd be reluctant to put my name to anything regarding the HBC. Everything they're connected with has a way of going tits up!

Re: Our Town??
 

you see the power of the accyweb................... left work at half five.... walked into Accy..... called for a beer in the "BOARS".... and..... which councillor has THREE wheely bins emptied every other week now thats what we are looking for!!!!

Re: Our Town??
 

your poem sums up my feelings about accy i wish there is something we could do thanks

Re: Our Town??
 

read it last week in the observer, didn,t realise you were on here jimmy, well done,great sentiments.;)

Re: Our Town??
 

As I replied in another thread, but which ha remained unanswered, how is Accrington worse than anywhere else in the country?

Plus points about our area:

Relatively affordable housing, compared with the rest of the country.

Great, friendly people.

Fantastic countryside on our doorstep.

An adequate supply of good social housing.

A range of schools, from good to middling.

A well used and lively internet forum.

Affordable and good quality food stuff at the local market.


I've lived all over the UK, and found everywhere has it's problems. Be it the poor employment rates in Cornwall. Lack of affordable housing for young people in many parts of the country, particularly in the south-east, but also in any area where people move into and force out the locals. Drugs in rural areas are as rife as in the larger towns and cities. Also those same places don't usually have the youth clubs, drama societies, swimming and sports centres, libraries, parks etc, that we have in Hyndburn.

Re: Our Town??
 

[quote=garinda;386708]As I replied in another thread, but which ha remained unanswered, how is Accrington worse than anywhere else in the country?

Plus points about our area:



A range of schools, from good to middling.

A
Affordable and good quality food stuff at the local market.


drug dealing is rife in accy and people are selling them in broad daylight. its a small town and the police shouldnt hav too much trouble in catching them. they just dont give a damn as they live in nicer areas and know their families wont be affected. also theirs no decent jobs here and the schools are awful oh the fruit market doesnt sell much local stuff . the only good point i can think of is the fantastic taste of the drinking water best in uk

Re: Our Town??
 

It is rubbish to say the police in any area take a blind eye to drug dealing.. no way!.. if you really do belive this to be the case them go to any police station and take your case.. complete rubbish..I'll bet most drug deals are done in daylight.. but I'll also bet you have to have a keen eye to detect them.. you seem to have valuable information in this sort of thing Spinner.. if you feel strongly about this then maybe you should give the Police your information.

Re: Our Town??
 

Trust me, drugs are rife throughout the country, from pretty Ribble Valley villages to the Highlands of Scotland. It's a national issue, not just a local one.

As for the food market. All the vegetables I buy are local, as is the bacon and most of the meat, and it's better, and more keenly priced, than the supermarket rubbish, making my carbon foot print positively tiny.

I started a thread when the leader of our council said we should wear rose tinted spectacles. We do have problems here, but we have less than a lot of other places. A lot of the things that people complain about in Accy are applicable nationwide, and not just to this area.

On the whole I love living here.:)

Re: Our Town??
 

That's wrong, every area is affected by drugs, and blighted by the crime that fund it.

Also if you know of anyone openly dealing drugs report them. I have, and the police acted on the information, so you're wrong there too.

Re: Our Town??
 

The local job market, is neither worse than anywhere else in the country. In a way we are lucky as it isn't seasonal, like it is in many prettier and affluent looking areas, which suffer higher unemployment rates than we do.

Again, the schools here are no better or worse than anywhere else in the UK. Any problems also apply nationally.

Re: Our Town??
 

and you grassed on the ducks..for drugs
http://www.metzerfarms.com/raise.htm

Re: Our Town??
 

see what your saying rindy but if locals see a problem with their town and arent happy with the way its being run then surely they have a right to try and change it.
IMO if accy is causing its locals problems ,then its time they were sorted .It may be a nationwide problem but it is down to the locals to voice their opinions on their OWN town because if they didnt it would continue to be the same as everywhere else and surely if thats the case the said problems would only get worse through people ignoring them ..

Re: Our Town??
 

Sadly I waited six minutes for you to post that.

Nighty night. I'm off collect my informant money.:D

Re: Our Town??
 

In part I quite agree. We have every right to complain about local issues that effect us, but in this case it seems soley to assume the problems are unique to Hyndburn/Accrington, they aren't.

There isn't this wonderful UK Shangri La, where there is no anti-social behaviour, drug problems, crime etc.

We have lots to be thankful for compared with other places in the country.

Re: Our Town??
 

Good jobs? That's open to debate. Hyndburn is well situated to access courses offering both academic and vocational qualifications, which could be studied part time if need be, and would greatly enhance your chance of getting a better job.

Only a lucky few get lifes riches handed to them on a silver plate, most have to get off their arse and earn it.

Re: Our Town??
 

We have lots to be thankful for compared with other places in the country





and accy could be much better G if people take on the issues that concern them ..ie wanting to walk the streets safely , getiing a decent night life back , ridding the streets of drugs and crime .. we have heard so many times on here just how bad it is ie ..mick and less for instance coming home form pub getting abuse ... and if there is someone out there that is willing to try and do something about all this then good on them i say... .....

I know its a long shot but wouldnt it be good to hear that accy is finally becomeing one of the safest places to be....

Re: Our Town??
 

Yes it would. But I don't know how highlighting problems in the local press will change anything though. Like I said, I think the problems would be better tackled nationally.

Got a problem? See your councillor, see your MP. Know about drug dealers/louts/vandals? Report them to the police. That's what they are there for, and they do act, I know personally.

In my experience direct action brings about much better results than just moaning about problems, here or in the local press.

Re: Our Town??
 

and jimmi is one who dosent want to moan but act...but yes i agree action speaks louder than word...

Re: Our Town??
 

Re: Our Town??
 

No reason at all. My gripe was with people moaning about local drug dealers, and not reporting it because the police don't live in the area, which is rubbish. Being proactive, rather than always complaing, is much more useful to any area of the country, including Accy.

Re: Our Town??
 

Its obviously a very important subject to a lot of people.... the point i was trying to make, in a way ( with the poem) that people would sit up and say, "thats right", was that for too long as an individual i have sat on the fence and gone along with the bull**** that we as citizans are fed by, not just this council, but them all.... Well from now on i will be there to question and queery everything that does not improve the area, everything that degrades or affects the living conditions of us all.

Re: Our Town??
 

Good for you.:)

Re: Our Town??
 

If more people adopted that attitude (including myself) then maybe it would make the powers that be sit up and listen...

good on ya .. hope you get a positive outcome

Re: Our Town??
 

well good for you but i did exactly the same thing and the police did not act on the info because the dealer was friendly with a councilller who regularly goes to the police to put in a good word for such thugs. thats whats wrong with accrington

Re: Our Town??
 

and thats the kind of trash I want to get at.......

Re: Our Town??
 

exactly i think the likes of peter britcliffe allow their collegues to mess around with no regard for peoples lives but more importantly have you any ideas about what we can do?

Re: Our Town??
 

If that's true I'll eat my hat.

Name the councillor.

I bet you don't.

Load of old rubbish. If there is corruption, there is always someone else you can go to. Your MP, or the press would be my first port of call.

So as well as knowing someone who was openly selling drugs, you uncovered a drug dealer/local councillor/local police corruption scandal, but did nothing about it?

Shame on you.

Go on, if what you say is true, name the councillor and I'll go to the press with it.

Re: Our Town??
 

Yeah, stop moaning and actually do something about it.

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Re: Our Town??
 

willow,
i drove arround the borough earlier in the week taking pictures of some of the ****tiest dumps i could find... im just in the process of putting together a comprehensive letter and photographs for the prats ... i,ll send you a copy of the finished artical if you want

Re: Our Town??
 

Spinner, if for some reason you don't have the strength of your convictions, or for some reason are too afraid to name here the corrupt local councillor, pm the name to me, and I'll post that you've done it, and I will then go to ther press with this sensational story.

Re: Our Town??
 

Re: Our Town??
 

I agree with garinda here spinner if you know of such corruption the only way to stop it is bring it out into the open...

Re: Our Town??
 

Spinner, i would gladly look more into this for you.... a little investigation can go a long way.... you are more than welcome to send me an email with a name....

Re: Our Town??
 

Re: Our Town??
 

thanks Willow ... got it... will get it to you over the weekend

Re: Our Town??
 

Spinner did send me the name of a councillor.

Thank you.

Re: Our Town??
 

I loved the poem Jimmyjim, a lot of it rings true. There are many threads on here about our incompetent council so if you have a root through some of the older threads you are bound to find a few issues.

Our town has deteriorated over the years, but so have most places in the UK. It seems that the nation's penchant for bowing to the PC brigade has caused the death of common sense. Instead of dealing with major issues, we now skirt round them for fear of offending someone, breaching their human rights or other such nonsense.

Back here in Accy, How much money has been wasted on Broadway over the years?

Removing A-level courses from Accy college saw the death of trade in the town centre. I always remember students having lunch breaks in the town centre, Swan pub, etc. Any town which has students, thrives.... Blackburn, Preston and Burnley all have livelier town centres and nightlife these days and I do believe that it is because they have a student population.

HBC do not take full advantage of the laws of the land. The community wardens could rake in a vast income for HBC by issuing on the spot fines for littering etc. and not just in the town centre. Not only would this revenue keep them in jobs but it would provide income for more wardens to be employed in all areas of Accy. It would only take a few people to be charged with littering and fined heftily for the message to get through. I am not talking about fines of £40-£50 here but the full £1,000.

The police here do act on information about drug dealers. We have had several arrested and imprisoned in my area. If you have a problem Spinner, then you need to report it. If it is a case of corruption, especially within the police and local council, then report it to the Police complaints commission and the press. If you do not act on your information then you have no right to complain about the situation.

That's my twopennorth on Accy, I am here because my family are, but I have seen a definite deterioration both in our town and in the country as a whole.

Re: Our Town??
 

good on you spinner......

Re: Our Town??
 

So are u going to act on Spinners concerns now Rindy?

Re: Our Town??
 

I have a name, and a vague story concerning corruption, but not any real evidence. I will be sending the details to the press to see if it can be investigated further, but there is not an awful lot to go on, so don't hold your breath.

I've just found the councillor's page on HBC's website, and would link it, but will respect Spinner's wishes not to name them here.

Re: Our Town??
 

garinda... i got the name too.... think we need to sit on it and try and come up with something solid.......... what do you think....

Re: Our Town??
 

Like I said, there is no real evidence to substantiate the claims, but I will be contacting the press with the details.

Re: Our Town??
 

Good on ya Spinner for sending Rindy the details. :D

Re: Our Town??
 

I think u really want to be careful that u do get evidence to substanciate claims made before it leads into trouble or put it in the hands of someone who can do that for you.

Re: Our Town??
 

I quite agree.

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think you should leave it untill we can come up with some to substantiate the claim.... think about it.... please

Re: Our Town??
 

Ok, it's not exactly urgent I suppose, but sitting on what little there is isn't going to make much difference as to if there is anything to be investigated or not.

Re: Our Town??
 

all we have is a name ... lets see what we can find out then we can put it together.... all the papers will do is ring him ask him what he has got to say about the allogations and when he denies it there is no story........

Re: Our Town??
 

Spinner has sent me more details than just a name. Other names and details have now been included, which will make it somewhat easier to investigate.

I'm not so naive as to give just the name of a councillor to the press, for them to then phone up the said person up, and ask if they are guilty, and for them to answer no.:D

Re: Our Town??
 

ok garinda, ill leave it up to you, i wasnt privalage to the same information....i have already put a few wheels in motion, so anything i come up with i will pass on to you....

Re: Our Town??
 

nice one spinner.