Saturday, January 24, 2009

Why I don't trust politicians

Before I update the week I'll just explain how I learnt the truth about politicians. In the 70s, before I drove, the government decided to create bus lanes. What a good idea, I thought, as an innocent teenager, making little roads for buses to keep the traffic clear.

Well fuck me, as soon as they arrived there were no little roads, they stole the lanes from existing ones.

That was the most important lesson I learnt about authority in my life. Politicians are not interested in us, and just make empty gestures that vary like the weather. There is no free lunch, they give away nothing and if you want more, earn it yourself.

Right, back to the present. My system of colouring in a road map to see the roads I've checked for old signs has worked perfectly. Two last week and one this week none of which had been recorded online (or I'd have known them already). Plenty more to cover now I know so a few weeks of time taken care of. Nothing else besides an old friend returned, although being female and not attracted to me was wearing out her welcome and no mixed friendship works when one wants more (about 99% then). But we get on well if nothing else. Both newspapers have let themselves down like a child filling their pants. They never used my interviews and when I sent them updates didn't even reply. I did post on their local forum they hadn't done anything after a couple of weeks but didn't name anyone. Actually I may as well now as it's too late to wreck that cause. There are many more local papers so I'll tell them now.

I've covered a couple of hundred miles this week, but when I collected train tickets I could do that in a day. I don't need to go nearly as far as that took me as one old sign is as good as another, so no need to go to Sissinghurst, Riverhead, Harlow and other hard to get places in the Home Counties let alone beyond. With tickets every station had them so when I got none in one I went to the next until I had a bagful. Signs are very rare and miles apart so can't cover many per trip. And the woman who wondered why I collect signs, you either collect or you don't and I do. The fact I also preserve history (all used train tickets were pulped to make new ones, so every one I have was saved from destruction). The same goes for old signs so I am doing the same, plus working on the authorities to try and stop them from going.

Meanwhile Blogspot threw another eppy last week and cleared the blogs I was following so it was not me but them. I'm having trouble adding any at all now so will be added when it behaves. That's about it but I've been driving nonstop this week and besides the new direction sign got three (including a modern copy) No Through Road signs in as many days despite being as rare as hen's teeth, various old speed limits and an almost unique 'NO WAITING' red circle which I barely even remember. Doing any job properly (and having the time to do it) is what gets people noticed, and few people seem to have the enthusiasm to do that.

No comments: