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The days are becoming lighter and at least a little warmer, thank goodness. Here’s a photo of our reliable garden snowdrop, first flower. It’s about to be uprooted, kept safe and moved to be planted in our newly-redesigned garden in the autumn. The hellebores in the other picture will be saved too. I’m still not quite sure how different the garden will look this time next year but these will add early flowers to the raised bed by the terrace.

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We are continuing with our #saveBYMT campaign. I received a reply from one councillor today. He has actually made some interesting points but a lot of his responses to my letter either use the Council’s stock phrases or facts that I cannot check ahead of the meeting on Monday evening. He also enclosed this letter from an indignant woman:

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This lady’s information is out of date but I am concerned that her spurious arguments are being used to bolster support from the council to cut the BYMT’s funding. I’m wonder whether Councillor Tickner sent a copy of my letter in his reply to her. I rather doubt it.

Checking the FB page of the campaign reveals some, in my view, odd arguments. Apparently, those of us who can pay should not benefit at all from Council spending, even whilst paying for it. I’ve come across this sort of nonsense on Twitter too.

Presumably this means that access to parks, roads, schools, dustbin collections, schools should be two-tier and means-tested.  Those who can afford to pay should not benefit at all from any public funds, whilst simultaneously financing the access for those who can’t. We’ll have separate parks, roads, bin services for wealthy and poor people. Now, I’m wondering about a) how fair this is for children who have no control over their parents’ income and b) how excluding any one section of society on the basis of something over which they have no control in any way fosters societal cohesion. Unless we are actually saying that those children with richer parents don’t have talent or ability or are somehow undeserving. And some are saying that, I think, which is odd.

I mean, with the best will in the world, having one Rich Kids’ Concert Band and one Poorer Kids’ Concert Band isn’t going to win national and international awards is it? Should young musicians not be judged on talent rather than their parents’ ability to pay? Funny that. It’s the whole basis of why I’m fighting against the plan to scrap the funding, reversed.

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I quietly unfollowed someone on Twitter yesterday. Actually soft blocked them, which means that they can no longer automatically see my tweets, although they can if they look for them. I blocked someone else a while back too. Long term followers of this blog will know how I agonise for months over unfollowing and blocking and I almost never do it. It took me two years to unfollow someone once, and I put up with grief and constant finger-wagging from them during this time, because I was too meek and lacking in self-esteem to realise that sometimes I did know better and I did not have to put up with their rubbish.

It seems to me that not everyone in this world can like everyone and we all have our own quirks and foibles. If you can’t stand me, don’t follow. I’m fine with that. In real life, off social media, if people constantly behave in ways that annoy, irritate or insult me, I distance myself from them. No-one forces people to be bosom buddies with everyone. Why not, then, on Twitter?

I’m keeping my own counsel about why I have unfollowed the most recent people. I’d actually muted one of them for a while without them noticing, then realised how much calmer I had felt in that time.  The behaviour of both since then has only confirmed my choice. I’m sure everyone is happier now.

 

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