CHINESE LAUNDRY DO IRONY!

The saga of the whingers and moaners continues. In the letters page of our esteemed local paper, the Chron, a the reader RB  has written of the hypocrisy of editor David Whaley in devoting a column to moaning about the moaners and whingers who write to his newspaper, saying the irony of the piece was clearly lost on the writer. Nah! The Chron don't do irony.

This is Whaley's studied response:

There is also a marked difference between those with a legitimate complaint who are ignored at every turn, insulted and fobbed off with every excuse known to man and those like himself who, for commercial and job security reasons, are happy to wave through the ill considered vandalism inflicted upon the town by his cronies up on West St. He mentions those who moan about everything that goes on in Oldham without offering a constructive alternative.

Here, in another photo-op for the paper we see our intrepid editor at the scene of one of OMBC's greatest triumphs, The Derker Levels. He is in earnest planning talks with an old gypsy fortune teller and peg seller Counc Stanton. He later said he was totally impressed with the way Derker had turned out nice and flat after all those nasty little houses had been removed. When asked about all the people forced out of their homes, despite the majority wanting to stay, he replied. "They're all whingers and moaners with no legitimate complaints. There's none of them come up with a constructive alternative have they?"

Photo © OEC  Copies available from the Chronicle Office price £3.50 + p&p

Strewth! does the fool not even read his own paper? For the past few years the letters page of the Chron has been regularly filled with complaints about one hare-brained scheme or another, complete with suggestions for better solutions. Have the jellyfish brains in the Tower listened?  Have they ever altered any plan to fit in with what we want? Do they care what we think? Hah! take a guess. In the last few years we have had many examples of the council riding roughshod over the wishes of the people. To name a few: Derker- Werneth - Metrolink - Academies - Tommyfield - The Old Town Hall - Yorkshire St. Need we go on?  In all these and many more cases there has been a vociferous response from our citizens against  the plans put forward by the Council brain cell. Has ought come of these pleas for common sense? Nope! The council response is usually to decide the outcome - call a public nonsultation - then announce a unanimous verdict in favour. So do us a favour David. Stop insulting our intelligence. We know. You know. We know you know, we are pissing against the wind trying to divert the party political sheep from their chosen path. Sometimes though, we have minor victories such as the local election result in Waterhead. Opportunity Knox was repeatedly told the Academy scheme was flawed, but self aggrandisement and the hubristic belief that only I know what's best for you, led her to the exit door. (Mind you look what the poor bastards in Waterhead got in her place: Peter Dean the well known free thinker and visionary.)

RB's closing sentence solves the editors's dilemma:  ".....if the Chron really is fed up of people complaining then their answer is simple. Don't print the letters."

Ah, but there's the rub. Don't print the letters. Nothing to fill the space only more ads and photo sales. Nothing left to edit.