Torbay in Bloom...perhaps

I guess one of the big things that does worry me, despite the new Conservative government's best attempt, is the gradual erosion of community. You have only to pass homes in the early evening to see that folk now face away from the window and toward the television or computer screen.

But that is not what I want to talk about. Take a good look at the picture above. Torbay Council have planted this prohibition notice on the edge of this lovely little garden on the western edge of Paignton Harbour. No planning permission is required by Torbay Council for notices and if you take the trouble you will notice loads of similar signs polluting the most beautiful places.

The story behind the anchor is that it was fished up some years ago by Tug Boat Captain Andy Ricks and brought back to the harbour. The anchor was dropped by a 19th Century sailing ship and therefore has considerable history. The anchor has become something of a memorial to all the past fisher folk of Paignton who will, like the rest of this community, be saddened to see this ugly notice now polluting this little garden. I did get the Herald Express to take a little picture and said what I have been written above, but sadly story didn't run. It seems that they had spoken to the local harbour superintendent who said that it was not an official monument. Oh dear oh dear.

Sadly, for me, this is another example of the systematic erosion of community life and the careless attitude to things that local people cherish.

The Sad Self-Certified Mortgage departs

I wrote this back in 2003 and posted on the BBC Moneybox website....



"Self-certification is all too easy of course. In a society where debt is the norm, does listing a unrealistic salary matter? Of course it matters. And it matters very much when the house is lost and sold on to one of the many folk out there just waiting for property to fall back on to the market at a silly price through mortgage default. So no, unchecked self-certification is not a good idea. Frank Sobey"



If you have listened to the news today you will gather that at last these poisonous mortgages, which in part have been responsible to the Credit Crunch by ripping off the less fiscally aware whilst boosting the bonus culture, will cease. Those caught in the trap had not a leg to stand on because THEY had signed to say that their income was much more than it actually was. Those responsible too often were hugely irresponsible!



Just needed to get that off my chest!