we ken't stend it
I read some cheering news the other day. Apparently, following last week's announcement that the London Olympics are expected to cost another £900m on top of their already infinite budget, 41% of Londoners (50%, according to the BBC's ad hoc reader poll) think we should just pull out now. and they haven't even asked me. A heartening 80% are seeing clearly enough to realise that the actual cost will be far more than even the newly-announced sum, and only 50% (I think it was) (still a worrying half, though) thought London stood to gain anything from the whole thing. (Mind you, I think a lot of those were the East London schoolchildren Tessa Jowell had been visiting, most of whom, she confidently assured reporters, fully expect to be personally taking part in the games - & I don't think 'ticket-collector on Gate Ten' is what they have in mind.)
Jowell says all this pessimism is ridiculous. Scarily, she predicts the Olympics will leave a legacy "for ever" in London. Duh. That's exactly what we're afraid of.
Ken Livingstone, meanwhile - our 'Mayor', remember? - the man who says he wants London to be a good place to live in? - is to be seen beaming merrily in the Guardian as he announces his intention to seek four terms in office. Strangely, he is quoted as saying: "When people get sick of me they will get rid of me." Erm -
But not to worry! He continues: "But I am sure that if I was not in post in 2012, I would be an honoured guest of the new mayor."
Well, discussing all this over the Sunday lunch, I said to Aunt Baroque (who is, handily, actually called Aunt B), "I think Ken's totally lost it, you know. He's lost the plot. He thinks he's omnipotent."
She's talking about upping sticks to Walton-on-Thames to escape the crippling costs of her Hounslow council tax. She shook her head sadly and replied: "He's certainly not the Ken we knew. He'll be going to work in a car, next."
4 comments:
I take my hat off to Aunt B. Tell her I see her in Mayville.
hello
I spent a long time making a complementary argument before the 6th July;
If you are a big sports fan [and I am] then Paris is the best choice.
1.go to paris
2.have a nice lunch
3.see some great sports
4.don't spent fifty years paying for it.
c'est tout, simple!
drew
Ah, but if you check the small print on ANY polls you'll find they interviewed exactly 1024 people. No more, no less. There has to be some reason for this number, but despite regular readings of "The Golden Bough" and "A Primer in Data Reduction" I'm damned if I know what is is.
What's been worrying me lately is this;
If we're paying for it all with the hike in our council taxes over the next 5 years (obviously I know that's not paying for all of it!), then when they sell off the Olypmic Village as housing, and the stadium to West Ham, as has been reported, do we get a bonus refund?
I doubt it eh?
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