Room 101 - what single aspect of modern life should be consigned to oblivion?

[Lateralthinking1]

Pabmusic

Completely agree.

[teamsaint]

Talking head: Today, Pabmusic complained that links to many news items and introductions to TV programmes often contain too much substantive information, making the principal item merely repetitious. Our reporter Jeremy Splod is live at Pabmusic’s address.

Jeremy Splod: Yes, today Pabmusic complained that links to many news items and introductions to TV programmes often contain too much substantive information, making the principal item merely repetitious. Pabmusic, what is your view?

Pabmusic: I think the links to many news items and introductions to TV programmes often contain too much substantive information.

Splod: Would you say that make the principal item merely repetitious?

Pabmusic: Yes.

Splod: Well, that’s Pabmusic complaining that the links to many news items and introductions to TV programmes often contain too much substantive information, making the principal item merely repetitious. So it's back to the studio…

[Rolling bar saying “Pabmusic says links to many news items and introductions to TV programmes contain too much substantive information, making the principal item merely repetitious".]

In case you missed it, this interview will be repeated every hour until you can quote it verbatim.

sorry, could you just run that by us again...........or give us some key points..............

[amateur51]

Perfect, Pabmusic

[kernelbogey]

Originally Posted by Lateralthinking1
[...] Does anyone have a workable suggestion, ie not arson and murder. [...]

Involve your MP?

Lat, what I meant is that perhaps that it might be useful, or at least satisfying, to complain to your MP about the apparent negligence of the council in enforcing planning and building regulations.

A horrible situation - best wishes.

kb

[Lateralthinking1]

Lat, what I meant is that perhaps that it might be useful, or at least satisfying, to complain to your MP about the apparent negligence of the council in enforcing planning and building regulations. A horrible situation - best wishes. kb

kb - Thank you for your e-mails yesterday and today. I do write to my MP occasionally but he is not what I would choose. Even some who vote for him say they wish it was someone else. I am keeping the dialogue going with the Council. Have expressed disappointment - now it is work until 9 March and there's the hint of more. They say they "hope" to answer my letter of 9 December soon. That is about issues relating to security of the property. Because they seem laissez faire about further time slippage, I have also specifically asked for a new end date to be set. They don't set conditions and always mean them. It is sort of "its got to this stage now and we might as well say that anything further they do, however long it takes, is authorised so as to complete it".

I have said that I can envisage it being April, with illness in the family, unaddressed doubts about subsidence and no end date and for the second spring running (actually, the fourth out of five) there will be little enjoyment of the garden. Also added if they think that the planning regulations aren't breached, would they think that there was a breach in regard to those aspects. I would. I have asked them to try to complete it within my parents' lifetimes. At the same time, they know I am preparing a submission to the Ombudsman who has already indicated that none of the procedure sounds quite right. I really don't want to go down that road - I'm completely fed up with it and it won't do anything much - but it has to be done just in case they don't answer the letter. Lat.

[french frank]

Lat

More immediate than going to your MP is to go to your local councillor. What s/he will be able to do is find out information (from the council) more effectively than you can yourself. Officers have to respond to requests from councillors and at least it might save time and stop you banging your head against a brick wall; and councils do have limited powers. (Apols if you've already done this, but some councillors aren't quite as high profile as others.)

[Lateralthinking1]

Lat - More immediate than going to your MP is to go to your local councillor. What s/he will be able to do is find out information (from the council) more effectively than you can yourself. Officers have to respond to requests from councillors and at least it might save time and stop you banging your head against a brick wall; and councils do have limited powers. (Apols if you've already done this, but some councillors aren't quite as high profile as others.)

frenchfrank - Thank you. Very thoughtful. The councillor was helpful early on but also had to try to be neutral as he is on the planning committee. When I mentioned that I had spoken to a lawyer - less than five minutes - he said that he would have to refrain from future comment and hoped we would understand. A second one is on the same committee and the third one would perhaps best be described as remote.

Anyway, many thanks to all. It is on something of a course - in fact that has sadly become a way of life. I can handle the procedural side of it to some extent. Unfortunately it also affects sleeping. I stop eating. I get gripped by a paralyzing fear - images in my head of massive cracks appearing in the houses etc - then it passes a bit.

Basically, you have all done more than enough, don't want the thread to be sidetracked onto my issues, but one thing I hope is that it might help people to see what can happen and be prepared. In the last year, I have acquired a lot of knowledge about what should be done so if anyone should ever need it, I could provide an informed opinion if that would be helpful to them. - Lat.

[salymap]

Lat. sorry forwhat you are going through but the fear and not eating will make you feel worse.

About 15 years ago a large lime tree on the verge and belonging to the council spread its roots under my bungalow and also next door, not joined to mine. In due course my neighbour's house was underpinned and the damage stopped. As my property was slightly further from the tree it took some time for the damage to spread but when my living room ceiling had cracks nearly an inch wide a surveyor fixed pins to various cracks an monitored them. Several small attempts to repair were made by my insurer. After about two years the council cut down the tree the week before my property was due tobe properly underpinned. It was never done, just minor repairs tackled. I had to pay one thousand pounds, excess, to my insurer although it was a council tree that caused the damage. I had to pay someone to dig upsome roots near my side path to prove my case. YOU ARE NOT ALONE the big organisations always come out on top. saly

[Lateralthinking1]

saly - That sounds dreadful. I am very sorry to hear it. If that is a council's own impacts, what hope for it managing others? Realise that I am not alone - that's always good in these situations and also not good, isn't it - reassuring v the fact that it happens quite a bit. It seems that while people worry about terrorism, war and all the rest, the most detrimental impacts can often happen far more ordinarily and locally! - Lat.

[Serial_Apologist]

saly - That sounds dreadful. I am very sorry to hear it. If that is a council's own impacts, what hope for it managing others? Realise that I am not alone - that's always good in these situations and also not good, isn't it - reassuring v the fact that it happens quite a bit. It seems that while people worry about terrorism, war and all the rest, the most detrimental impacts can often happen far more ordinarily and locally! - Lat.

Lat - make absolutely certain - as I'm sure you must have - to keep full ongoing records as to this unfolding story filed; this will prove invaluable for continuing insurance purposes, but also, god forbid, should this matter need to reach the courts.

In the meantime, best wishes!

S-A

[Serial_Apologist]

If that is a council's own impacts, what hope for it managing others?

In your particular case, probably more because the council is in the position to put blame on a party other than themselves!

[french frank]

although it was a council tree that caused the damage. I had to pay someone to dig upsome roots near my side path to prove my case. YOU ARE NOT ALONE the big organisations always come out on top.

Similar case with some ancestral lands with us. A neighbour applied to the council for some trees on a right of way to be cut down as they were in a dangerous state and threatened her house. The council said the trees were on land which had no registered owner and therefore they weren't responsible. They weren't on our land either, but because our land was closest to the trees, we were legally responsible (they said). Oh, well. Saved the ratepayer forking out, I suppose .

[Lateralthinking1]

Lat - make absolutely certain - as I'm sure you must have - to keep full ongoing records as to this unfolding story filed; this will prove invaluable for continuing insurance purposes, but also, god forbid, should this matter need to reach the courts. In the meantime, best wishes! S-A

Thank you serial-apologist. After much activity yesterday, I am sitting here waiting for an acknowledgment to my e-mail to them of 6.36am this morning. No sign. Somehow I think I will be doing the Ombudsman submission tomorrow.

I have kept a full file of the correspondence in date order. While I dash off the occasional letter to an MP, this is not my usual way. No need to have done it before. But, god forbid, if it ever did go to court (in the event of serious damage occurring), it is important to show what we did and what others didn't do, though any third party would find it a bit mind boggling.

[Serial_Apologist]

Thank you serial-apologist. After much activity yesterday, I am sitting here waiting for an acknowledgment to my e-mail to them of 6.36am this morning. No sign. Somehow I think I will be doing the Ombudsman submission tomorrow.

I have kept a full file of the correspondence in date order. While I dash off the occasional letter to an MP, this is not my usual way. No need to have done it before. But, god forbid, if it ever did go to court (in the event of serious damage occurring), it is important to show what we did and what others didn't do, though any third party would find it a bit mind boggling.

Emails have a "timely" way of disappearing it comes to producing written evidence to enquiries, as we've seen so often. It is often claimed that the aggrieved party was mailed or contacted when in fact they weren't; the onus will be on the party in question to produce evidence to that effect, but you will at least have your end of the written evidence to hand.

[salymap]

Yes Lat, good luck, it is the time that these things take that is so often upsetting. My furniture was piled up in the middle of the room and I ate off trays, that sort of thing. Keep us posted