St George’s Day

So it’s St George’s day on Saturday - the Patron Saint of England.

Is anything happening to celebrate this day in York? Has the local authorities got anything planned?

Well from what I have heard - no. Zip. Zilch. Nada. Complete nothing.

Several things about this make me angry.

Why will people celebrate St Patrick’s Day and not their patron saint?
Why don’t the leaders of the country make it a bank holiday - they do for other things but not for this apparently.

But the main think that annoys me is with the general association that St George’s Cross has with thugs and far right politics.

I’m English and I’m proud of it. It’s about time that the millions of law abiding English people - of all race - win the flag back from people who portray it in a less than favourable light.

PS: I don’t think that much happens to celebrate Yorkshire day - 1st August if anyone is interested.

£3.6m uncollected - and then they ask for more

The local council hasn’t collected £3.6m, yes £3.6m, worth of council tax and then they have the nerve to ask for more.

I just can’t beleive this story that was published today in the York Evening Press (www.thisisyork.co.uk).

We the public pay money to the council to collect money and then they can’t do it. They were 94% successful in collecting.

This has really got me fuming - they blame the new IT system that the public have paid for saying they can’t get reminders out to people and then they ask for an above the inflation increase in council tax - probably to fill the hole in the budget that the lack of proper collection of last years tax has caused.

This is not just good enough.

People will always try and get out of paying more tax so what could be done to make sure that people pay. One idea that I have had is for a person - when they have paid their tax - to be issued with a card stating so and this card also carries an expiry date. Without this card they can’t use council services - i.e. they could get kicked out of their council home, can’t claim benefit, can’t get a library card, can’t send their kids to school and can’t get their bins emptied.

Basically - If you pay, you get.