We took Ellie out for her walk. Dover District Council are now dredging the river, I guess at last they must have taken notice of the amount of carp etc that died in the water during the summer.
Eventually we had a phone call. I think my next Facebook entry explains what happened….
“UPDATE on allotment post – plot 32. Firstly thank you all for your concern and support. We did visit the town council yesterday and they promised to contact us this morning. We received a call around 11 am saying they had now contacted the previous holder who accepted that it was right that he should lose the allotment because of neglect. We were then informed that we were now the new holder and on asking for email confirmation of this, we were told we would receive it today. This has not happened and that leaves us feeling uneasy to say the least.
We are to meet with the previous holder on Friday, along with the town clerk, in order for him to take away his tools and other items that he said were not to be included in the change over. The town clerk then informed us that these items included the shed and two greenhouses, despite my offering to buy them from him. The town clerk suggested we give him a deadline of 30th January to remove these items and on that date all that is left will be included with the allotment. We asked for this as we need to replace the shed and greenhouse immediately as we had already planned to use the greenhouse in February. We also want a conclusion so we know exactly what we need to replace. It then occurred to us that he was cherry picking, taking all the good stuff and leaving us all the rubbish, so we will ask he removes all the rubbish first as after he has his greenhouses and shed, he will have no incentive to return and get rid of the rubbish.
Let’s see what happens next………………..I will keep you informed.”
Meanwhile, I had a Red Hatter meeting which I just did not feel in the mood for. We had lunch at Lesters.
Back home and it seemed rather a coincidence that I put the above on FB at 5.25pm and within 5 minutes, I received this…….
Dear Margaret and Malcolm,
Further to my telephone call with Malcolm this morning please may I confirm that you will be issued with the allotment tenancy agreement for Black Lane Allotment Garden Plot 32 and the paperwork will be issued next week. Thank you for your patience on this matter and I’m sorry for the upset and distressed caused.
However, please be aware that I have given the previous allotment holder the opportunity to clear his possessions from the allotment. Malcolm – please can Joe and I meet with you at the site on Friday 10th January at 10:00am to discuss exactly what will be removed and the timescale – to ensure all parties are on the same page, are you available please?
With Kind regards,
Miss Laura Fidler
Town Clerk & Clerk to Sandwich Toll Bridge Fund
Sandwich Town Council
Guildhall
Cattle Market
Sandwich
Kent, CT13 9AH
Tel. 01304 617197
Email. townclerk@sandwichtowncouncil.gov.uk”
Mal and I have agreed that he will attend on Friday, I can do without the stress. I don’t cope as well as I use to. BUT I really can not cope with injustice either.
As often happens with social media, people started to get nasty and so I put the last update on and deleted all the posts……I have of course copied and kept all the comments! I always cover my back!
My last update….
“I have just received an email from the town clerk confirming that I am now the new tenant. As I said before, once that was confirmed I will delete this thread especially because of some of the nasty comments made against the previous tenant who I feel no ill will against. We were both a victim of bureaucratic incompetence.
Because of some of the nasty comments being made towards me demanding me not to make my case public, I will leave this thread open until 8pm so that some of my kind supporters will be able to see why the thread was removed.
As for those who think we should automatically roll over and surrender to authority, I have always challenged injustice. I think this thread shows the power of publicity against those who would have you accept rulings from above without question. ”
Thought for the Day – “I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it.” ~ Maya Angelou