Issue 86, 26 October - Barking & Dagenham

6
NOSTALGIA / HAVE YOUR SAY
New bins make the
area look more untidy
than it was before
I Do not believe it! After complaining
to all and sundry about the state of
Dagenham with so many dustbins
outside every house, making this
borough look like a sight for very sore
eyes, I have just been informed by a
council employee that we will soon be
receiving yet another bin, to put our
waste paper in.
I would like to know who is
responsible. Don’t they realise that
any pride the residents might have
had in the past because they lived in
Dagenham is being eradicated at the
speed of sound?
What would be the point of trying
to make an effort to improve the area,
when it would seem that the council is
working against this principle?
There is no way that, with at
least three rubbish bins outside every
house, pride will be restored while the
council continues to drag down the
appearance of this borough.
There’s more to life than just
money – with the money spent on
buying more bins, the council could
have put a decent and safe pavement
in Cornshaw Road.
Neglect can be seen all around
Dagenham as the council spend our
money on rubbish bins, while telling
us they cannot do the things that are
really needed because they haven’t got
the funds.
With this borough looking so
rough as rubbish bins litter every
highway and byway, it would appear
an open invitation to fly-tippers.
I think it’s only right that the name
of the borough reflects what type of
area it is. With this in mind, I suggest
that the council rename Dagenham to
Bin City – a true reflection of what it’s
doing for our area.
NormaN SampSoN
Dagenham
THE CoUNCIL SaYS: one of the
main reasons we are bringing in the
brown wheelie bins is to make the
streets tidier. The orange bags had
a tendency to split and blow around,
which could cause an eyesore.
Investing in a third wheelie bin
26 October 2012
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
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i AM writing to complain about
the front page from the previous
issue of thenews. i was very
offended by the piece titled
“Lots to do for people over 50”.
i am 51 and am not, in my
opinion, old. i work full time and
have two children who live at
home.
My daughter is 15 and takes
up a great deal of my time.
Although it is good that the
borough is trying to do things
for ‘older’ people, i have neither
the time nor inclination to take
will actually save money because the
scheme will be much cheaper to run
than the orange bags, which cost
around £300,000 a year. The brown
bins aren’t just for waste paper, but
also for plastic bottles, tin cans, thin
cardboard, telephone directories and
catalogues.
Help to give families
affected by cancer a
better festive season
MY name is Lin Mathieson and I’m a
trustee of the Mark McCarthy charity,
which provides help for patients in the
area terminally ill with cancer.
We urgently need people to help
provide non-perishable goods for
these patients.
This year, we are expecting a
high demand due to the economic
downturn, and these people are really
struggling.
We make up Christmas hampers
for the families of people we help. For
the children in these families, we provide
a small gift, as in many cases it
will be their last Christmas as a family
together.
We will pick up these goods ourselves
from anyone who is able to
donate. our contact number is 07821
840063, or you can email us on
markmccarthysmagicmoments@live.
co.uk
Thank you for taking the time
to read this letter. You can find out
Those were The days
THE previous issue of thenews
mentioned the planned closure of king
george’s maternity unit. That took me
back a bit – not because any of my
Lynchlings were born there, but because
i once worked in the place.
This was back in the late 50s. The
hospital was then on Eastern Avenue, in
ilford, and i was between ships.
Engineer
After national service in the Royal Navy, i
went to sea in the merchant one as an
engineer, sailing to New Zealand and
along America and Canada’s eastern
seaboard.
it was after leaving a ship in New York,
having done a year as its fifth engineer,
that I came home to find a shipping
slump, making new berths hard to find.
I was upset by your ‘over 50s’ headline
So i took a job at the king george and
its neighbouring maternity hospital until
things improved.
i was the assistant engineer. it meant
helping to mend the odd trolley, but
mainly keeping the central heating
system going. i had to clean boilers and
keep an eye on their workings generally,
but i also spent a lot of time touring the
hospitals in my grease-stained boiler
suit, bleeding radiators.
That meant going onto the wards –
and on them were a lot of young nurses.
There were a lot of older ones, too,
though. Apart from keeping an eye on
their patients, they also tended to keep a
maternal one on their colleagues.
It’s very difficult to chat up a young
probationer who’s trying to take
someone’s temperature while a stern-
up arts, crafts or
ballroom dancing.
As for computer
lessons, they are useful
for older people, but
most of the 50 year
olds i know need
computer skills for
their place of work.
i thought we lived in a world
where ageism is
unacceptable, and i quote from
www.ageuk.org.uk: “Ageism is
discrimination that can impact
on someone’s confidence and
more about us by visiting our website,
www.markmccarthysmagicmoments.
webs.com
LIN maTHIESoN
Dagenham
ANNUAL GIFTS: How thenews
has covered past donations from
Mark McCarthy’s Magic Moments
We’re grateful for
everyone’s help at
William Bellamy fete
DESPITE the bad weather over the
summer, William Bellamy Primary
School held their annual fete and
managed to raise £3,172. The event
quality of life. it
can also affect the
way that older
people are
represented in the
media, which can
have a wider
impact on the
public’s attitude.”
Even if i did have time to take
up any of the above activities,
they are mostly during the
daytime.
Considering i cannot retire
until i am at least 67, i don’t
was organised by the Voice, who are
the parents’ forum at the school.
We would like to say a very big
thank you to all the school staff who
came in and helped on the day. And
thanks to the parents for their support,
and to everyone who made a big effect
to come to the fete and support the
school.
We’re also grateful to Mr Hartt
from the Tang Soo Do martial arts club
and all the members who attended.
And a very big thank you goes to
all the shopping centres who donated
prizes for the raffle, as well as Barclays
Bank for all their support .
Finally, thank you to John O’Toole,
Tony Lewis and Ruth Sheppard for
their support and organisation of the
event.
We will be having further events
this year. For further information,
please contact me on 020 8270 6506.
JamES STErLING
Dagenham
Time for action on
pavement dog mess
near Henry Green
I LIVE in Valence Avenue, between
Kemp Road and Green Lane. I walk
in the area every day, and there are
always two or three piles of dog poo
left by irresponsible, uncaring owners
who don’t pick up what their dog has
left.
The council doesn’t seem to
faced ward sister charges towards you.
“What are you doing?” one of them
once demanded.
“Bleeding radiators, sister!” i replied.
Whereupon she told me to mind my
language and leave her nurses alone.
Hinges
Another regular job of mine was
wandering around with an oilcan, making
sure hinges on doors and trolleys were in
good order.
it was on one of these forays into the
maternity hospital when it happened.
i had been oiling and greasing merrily
for about an hour when i opened a door
by backing into it.
Then, hearing voices, I turned to find it
full of women in sparkling white overalls
– and other lying on a table with the
think i will be joining in any time
soon.
if i want to do any of these
activities, i have to pay for them,
whereas the story made it sound
like they were all free of charge.
My mother-in-law has taken
up the offer of free computer
lessons – but she is 74 years
old.
Just for the record, i am a
borough resident and have been
all of my life.
CaRoL TayLoR
Dagenham
touch it, so it is left until someone
walks in it and spreads it over the
pavement. Henry Green Primary
School is only 50 yards away and
young children and, particularly
for mums with pushchairs going to
school, it is not a very nice place to
walk.
In all the years I have lived in
Dagenham, I have never seen a dog
warden. Do we still have them, or
have they gone the way of the dodo?
I have also never heard of anyone
being prosecuted or fined for leaving
their dog’s poo on the ground. Please
can we put a stop to this unsightly
mess?
pETEr pEarCE
Dagenham
THE CoUNCIL SaYS: Unfortunately,
there are some irresponsible dog
owners who do not clean up after
their pets. We do clean up dog mess
as part of our regular street cleaning
rounds, but if you know an area that’s
particularly bad, please report it to us
by calling 020 8215 3000.
The council does have a dog
warden service, although its role is
dealing with stray animals rather than
targeting dog fouling.
Finally, fining people for dog fouling
is difficult because the owner has
to be caught in the act. However, we
do take action where we can, and we
welcome information from the public
that could help us to identify those
responsible.
My memories of King George maternity wards
others telling her to “bear down”. They
weren’t exactly overjoyed to see a young
bloke in a greasy boiler suit with an
oilcan in one hand and a spanner in the
other!
Those were the days...
BRIAN LYNCH
Brian grew up in Dagenham.
He has been a local journalist
specialising in regional
government and business.
Brian has written books
including Naked Knees and
Blakey’d Boots, an account of
his childhood, murder mystery
He Had It Coming and The
Road from Gloster Hill, the
true story of a ‘true Brit’. All are on sale at
Amazon.co.uk – and new fantasy Sherlock and
Holmes is now available for the Kindle e-reader.