Saying what you really want to say.......

Have you ever itched to say something but haven't because it might be considered inappropriate or you may feel embarrassed or judged by the listeners.

As I get older this itch seems to get more the better of me and I have found that my core beliefs take more of a controlling effect that my upbringing. I was raised not to make a fuss in public, keep the stiff upper lip or to walk away with dignity.

Well I have news for you. You can have your say AND still keep your dignity. My other half makes that perfectly clear too.I'll probably blog about this more over the next few months but the first issue I'm going to raise is Double Standards and saying it like it is.

Double Standards are rife everywhere, very much with the "well if they can do it, so can we" approach, local authorities, and central government being particularly to blame. This culture of passing it on has truly filtered down to the man on the street.



Not a day goes by that we arrive at work and some less than considerate dog walker has not only allowed his dog to defecate directly in the entrance of our front door, but also left it there for someone else to deal with. Apart from this being an offence for which they can be fined up to £1000.00, you only have to cross the road into theatreland and hopscotch the pavements there to see the problems is just as bad if not worse.

The local authority have made a huge hooha about our signs and A boards (see the next blog for that story), to the point that their staff have used foul language at my staff, but in the six months that we have been their tenants in business premises not a single dog warden has passed his shadow on the Saltmarket. Dog Wardens are supposed to do a job that involves persistent offenders in dog fouling, so where are they? The Environmental Protection Services are patrolling the city streets telling small businesses that they cannot put A boards up outside their shops despite the fact that they have the widest pavements for eight square blocks and the lowest footfall.

Did you know if we paid a £175 annual fee, we could put up a table and chairs outside our shop and A board in line with them (because then we'd have paid to block a highway) in terms of the National Roads and Highway act. But because we haven't paid the fee to put a table and chairs outside our shop we cannot put an A board out there.

Glasgow City Council worry more about an A board that does NOT block pedestrians from walking down a pavement (Their street furniture is wider and more obstructive - bins, temporary signs etc.) than piles and piles of dog faeces that can make people blind, spread disease and spread filth, furthermore making them unable to enjoy their cityscape.

Rather than track down those that create filth in public spaces environmental health are keeping themselves busy with the easy targets, small business that keep the employment figures up, support the neighbourhood police and provide a contribution to the local economy.