nourishing obscurity

Courtesy of Angus – remember the name Ian Shaw, folks, Bournemouth Borough Council’s housing manager.

When council officers stole* a baby buggy and after the couple reported the theft to the council, said council wanted £50 for them to get it back.

Said our Ian:

“The health and safety of our residents is our number one priority. It is our responsibility to ensure fire escape routes are clear and the importance is evident when you read the tragic story of the tower block fire that killed six people in Camberwell in July.”

* stole …  One of Merriam-Webster’s definitions is:

to take surreptitiously or without permission

Another says:

without intent to return it

The council may have warned residents not to block the entrance.  We have no way of knowing if the buggy was sticking out or was in the corner or what.  What is known is that the buggy was removed, with no notice and not just removed to a sideroom but was impounded, occasioning a large fine.

I think they might have been within their rights to move it to a side room and to leave a notice saying what they’d done and where to get the buggy back.  Then the discussion could have taken place and the rule made clear.

But what Ian *&$%^£ing Shaw is trying to put over is more than Jobsworth – it is officious.

Filed under: Society & human issues