I had the pleasure of the schools sports day last week , every bit as cringeworthy as it was back in the day ...even though the day was a long long time ago . The headmaster was running round with a shovel desperately trying to fill in the mole hills that resembled the Somme , the grass had been cut but it resembled haymaking more than mown . But the thing I noticed is that the kids cant skip , has skipping died a death, has it become like marbles a playground thing that isnt encouraged anymore ?
Munchkin won by miles and hes only a squirt . Do the kids never use the field anymore? All rather baffling .
Affordable Housing ......http://everydayagem.blogspot.co.uk/ who decides that housing is designated affordable? the wonderful affordable housing they tuck into most estates is usually tucked into some dark and gloomy corner or next to the land drainage pumps in Lincolnshire , but they now no longer have to build affordable housing into any development . So all the retirees from the Carbuncle in the Corner aka London ,wont have to be troubled by the locals anymore, they can live in their gated communities after selling their 2 up 2 down and have everything delivered to their door , while pretending theyve retired to the countryside .
If I sound a little bitter and twisted its because our not so local post office and shop has announced that they will no longer be selling food , they only sold basic items like bread and milk and a few groceries but to even stay open they have decided they can no longer afford to do that and will just sell locally produced crafts and tourist tat , the new post office contract no longer pays a wage only comission on what they sell so the hours are being reduced as well . It will be having to pop to the tourist hell that is Woodhall Spa if you need anything . We are now a group of villages with no services the post office hanging by a thread , all we have is endless delivery vans.
People who have lived here for generations are being squeezed out by endless streams of retiring Londoners , they dont use the schools , so they keep shutting , but they dont seem to think it through very well .
Its all very well coming to live here , its beautiful but how you cope with life deteriorates , it might not be a problem waiting 5 weeks for a GP appointment when your fit and healthy , What happens once you cant drive anymore ? theres no public transport .
Shopping ? well what happens when you deteriorate to the point where the internet is a struggle . Do you want to be facing moving again in your 70s and 80s?
Mostly they have no idea how bleedin grim it can be in a winter , weve had a few mild winters , the Spring after a bad winter half the properties in the area are for sale ...lol
We live in south London - if you knew how awful life has become for ordinary people here you would understand why they move out! Wish we could move - from a tiny house where we have lived for nearly 47 years - to somewhere nice, but we have always had a serious need for the specialist hospitals. Not to forget local friends and family.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that people move rural/coastal without really thinking it out. We have seen it happen time and time again with neighbours. They generally get a couple of good years - when they boast how wonderful their life is - but then ill health or other situations take their toll. Often they are moving away from family and support networks.
I think if I lived in some small village where in comers took local housing and raised property prices I would be very angry too, but not all of us Londoners live in luxury. We were in Whitechapel again today - a place of poverty and overcrowding (although the trendies are now moving in) whilst just down the road are the towering buildings of The City. Rich and poor side by side. Nothing much changes; just worsens.
Its access to services like hospitals , thats a huge stumbling block here . Plus with a disabled partner trying to get the doctors to understand that no I cant get him into the car and take him in at a drop of a hat to access an appointment , I need to organise help and transport .
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