Volunteers to clean up the island

[Tinpot]

2 minutes ago, Non-Believer said:

If you want to consider the management of where your funds are going whilst on the general subject of beach cleaning; consider DBC still merrily shovelling seaweed back into the sea on a daily basis so it can wash up again on the next tide. Now there's a self perpetuating job if ever there was one and one that @Amadeus said he was going to address when he came into office IIRC...

Have you seen the beach in peel over the summer?

Thats how it should be done.  Douglas and Ramsey could learn a thing or two

[Passing Time]

34 minutes ago, asitis said:

It's amazing to me how we have got here over the course of the past 30 years. On an island drowning in public servants you would have thought maintenance and it's administration would be easy !

 

Not when you have people wanting to do it in their spare time. The world's fucked mate. Over 8,000 government employees and they can't sort out basic problems like street cleaning etc.

[Passing Time]

52 minutes ago, The Bastard said:

So little wit to understand it.

Not your fault, you'll learn one day

[The Bastard]

Just now, Passing Time said:

Not your fault, you'll learn one day

Poor. As all your posts are. Do you think we could have just one thread that you don't try to make about yourself when you've been drinking ?

By the way, do you want us to add a dumbed down version of any post that has words longer than four letters just for you ? Maybe a cartoon picture with some teddies and ponies in it so you can get it ?

[Passing Time]

24 minutes ago, The Bastard said:

Poor. As all your posts are. Do you think we could have just one thread that you don't try to make about yourself when you've been drinking ?

By the way, do you want us to add a dumbed down version of any post that has words longer than four letters just for you ? Maybe a cartoon picture with some teddies and ponies in it so you can get it ?

Thankfully you'll never be a sociologist, psychologist you're quite possibly though the subject for many

Edited Sunday at 07:57 PM by Passing Time
Incorrect profession used

[The Bastard]

2 minutes ago, Passing Time said:

Thankfully you'll never be a sociologist, you're quite possibly though the subject for many

Bored now. You're turning this into an insult thread because you've had a few shandies and are spoiling for a fight that's never going to happen unless it's with an unwary ambulance crew. Doesn't seem that you know what a sociologist is either, but I expect the room is spinning a bit. A suggestion : just stick to the topic and if you've nothing useful to contribute (as is usually the case), why not just drink some more shandy and shout at the neighbours instead ?

[Auntie Depressant]

There was a time when government provided most public services. When good hearted people started to fill the gaps there was an outcry about the more voluntary work done, the less responsibility would be assumed by government. The truth is that government don’t have the money anymore and the money they do have they don’t spend wisely. The other truth is that many of those services that sprung up to fill the gaps, do far better jobs than the government ever did. Beach Buddies, Isle Listen, Motiv8 and the rest all do great service to us. Some have part government funding but many do not. Spouting that doing something for the good of the community is allowing the government to renege on responsibilities is lazy talk. Times have changed. Talking about paying rates and expecting everything to come from it is deluded. Commissioners only get a small proportion, 16% from memory, to provide services and it’s not enough. If you don’t want to do it, if you can’t be bothered, then fine, but don’t rip the ass out of those who are willing to try to effect positive change just because their efforts mirror back to you how little you care. 

[cissolt]

4 hours ago, FANDL said:

According to Wheeler he simply approached them to ask for the paint code so that it was done to standard in the right colour and they threatened to take him to court from there. Somewhat amusingly the newspaper article contains the following quote:

DoI maintenance manager Alan Hardinge replied on November 23 saying that the work would be done that weekend. Mr Hardinge wrote: ’I do appreciate that this work has taken longer than anticipated. However, we have followed the correct procurement procedures to engage a suitably qualified contractor.’

Presumably after a long and arduous procurement process that would be a contractor who had a paint brush and who had an employee who knew how to use a paintbrush? Also did they apply the same arduous assessment process on the volunteers who painted the railings on Marine Drive mentioned in the original news story?

This is exactly why nobody volunteers as government does not want free labour doing work that it could be pretending to do. 

We need to be repurposing the absolute waste of man power we are devoting to the climate change team and the Defa peat protection gang.  

 

[Thefella]

44 minutes ago, The Bastard said:

Bored now. You're turning this into an insult thread because you've had a few shandies and are spoiling for a fight that's never going to happen unless it's with an unwary ambulance crew. 

But at least he’ll ask for a rates rebate on all your efforts clearing hedges for free Bill. 

[The Voice of Reason]

49 minutes ago, The Bastard said:

Bored now. You're turning this into an insult thread because you've had a few shandies and are spoiling for a fight that's never going to happen unless it's with an unwary ambulance crew. Doesn't seem that you know what a sociologist is either, but I expect the room is spinning a bit. A suggestion : just stick to the topic and if you've nothing useful to contribute (as is usually the case), why not just drink some more shandy and shout at the neighbours instead ?

I’ve always considered it bad form to accuse someone of posting whilst they are in drink, however obvious it is.

Its probably something most on here have done, but there are more subtle ways of responding.

[asitis]

Christ, 55 in regulation (above) the bureaucrats just love that stuff !

[Non-Believer]

52 minutes ago, cissolt said:

We need to be repurposing the absolute waste of man power we are devoting to the climate change team and the Defa peat protection gang.  

 

And not just the manpower (Upland Carbon Officers et al), there's also the capital costs of the machinery and equipment that's been purchased new to dig up and "rehabilitate" the old turbaries that nature has been busy rehabilitating since peat cutting ceased here many, many years ago.

If people want to volunteer for community duties fine, but never forget where the funding that used to pay for the job being done is now being spent.

[The Phantom]

21 hours ago, 2112 said:

 

If you look at Beach Buddies, when they get volunteers for beach/countryside litter cleaning, they normally take an hour to hour and a half to clean. I would say that some of the work which our quangocrats would be focusing on would take a longer period of time. 
 

No doubt IOMG would expect volunteers to provide their own tools? What about insurance? 

But 20 - 30 people doing that is the equivalent of one full week of work for one person. 

15 hours ago, A fool and his money..... said:

 

Volunteering is volunteering. FFS don't get the insurance companies involved. Those greedy cunts will make it cost more than paying someone to do it!

I've done some Beach Buddies things.  Both independently and with work volunteer days, I also regularly pick up stuff when at beaches or out on the water, regularly at otherwise inaccessible beaches etc.  

There are a couple of 'Trail Fairy' groups that do work on mountain bike trails in the plantations, both building new ones, maintaining or improving old ones and picking up rubbish.  I've sort of 'adopted' the plantation nearest my house and I clear the trails of fallen trees etc.  These are kept fairly private amongst a group of riders/friends and DEFA sort of turns a blind eye, as I suspect with use of chainsaws etc, it would turn into a H&S/Insurance nightmare. 

One day when my kids allow some spare time, I'd like to do more on clearing the coastal footpaths, but again you'd need strimmers and other powertools.  This would also have to be kept underground, as there would no doubt be some Govt oik dictating that bible-like planning report would need to be done and that I'd need to wear a full suit of armour. 

[Andy Onchan]

13 hours ago, Passing Time said:

Not when you have people wanting to do it in their spare time. The world's fucked mate. Over 8,000 government employees and they can't sort out basic problems like street cleaning etc.

Yes, when you read job adverts IOMG proudly, yes proudly, state that they are the Island's largest employer! It's like they're in competition with another government. The organisation is screwed, well and truly screwed.

[Dirty Buggane]

18 hours ago, The Bastard said:

Totally. Volunteering programs should be about pairing willing people with the right equipment to get the job done, the right supervision, and the right safety protection. That's enablement.

So who would be supervising, do you have people from different trades with suitable experience. Will this mean they are going to sit in a vehicle watching the work to make sure its up to standard, do they get a better class of biscuits coffee instead of tea.