Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Caught Between A Rock And A Car Space

By John Williams

A South Tipperary Local Authority made €100,000 in a year from parking at a well known tourist location where parking charges were not notified before entry.

Cashel Town Council took in 100,000 at the Rock Car park at Bru Boru during 2008. When this writer was there recently there was no signage announcing the €3 exit charge until one entered.

I asked the Council how many times a refund has been requested, if there any plans to make this charge known to visitors before they enter the car park, how long the car park is open and how much was taken in in parking charges by the Council while this situation prevailed.

The Council said the car park has been in use since 2007 and the income for 2008 from this car park was €100,000. No one who paid had asked for a refund . However, I understand several visitors to Bru Boru had commented about the fact that this charge was not made known to them until they had entered the car park.

The Council also said they would install ‘appropriate signage ‘ on the approach to the car park.

UPDATE: The Council now confirm the new signage has been erected on the approach to the carpark. They also say that the income from 2007 was €73,000 euro and point out the car park barrier was not in operation during some months of 2007 due to malfunction of equipment.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Political flyers

We refer to the above,especially with regard to a certain person who we understand is a politician.

Despite telling this person on several occasions we do not want any contact with her her literature continues to soil our letterbox. We have now informed her that if she allows her staff to approach our door again she will be reported to the relevant authorities.

The person is making two assumptions when putting their drivel through our door. First they seem to think we are interested in their updates and secondly they appear under the impresion we would, if we needed to raise an issue, approach them. Wrong both times.

Saturday, March 22, 2008

No Holo

We bought some Polo mints but all were broken when opened. The circle that kept the hole together was all broken so no hole. Wholly unacceptable, the mint without the hole. They should be called no holo mints, the no hole with the mint...We have written to the polo mint folk to express our concern at this holy time of Easter. We hope for a wholesome response

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

A Letter From Drissa

We received the following from Drissa. It was dated 8 March and for some reason went to our junk mail folder and we only found it today. heaven forbid this be junk!

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Dear John,

Thanks for your reply.I am happy to hear from you and your question.What you have to know is that I contacted you for the benefit of both of us and your share will not be any problem since the money is coming to your account.I am the person that supposed to tell you not to betray me when this money comes to your account.You will have your share as soon as the bank transfer this money to your account and you first remove your share from the total money.

What I required from you is your personal informations such as your names,country,bank account,age,occupation so that I will subsmit it to the bank and introduce you as my late father's foreign business partner(beneficiary).

While replying back,I would like you to tell me more about yourself for me to know the kind of person I am dealing with.

I wait for your reply.

Drissa.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Still Waiting For The Money

No news from Drissa. Sad really...

Hygiene In Supermarkets

We refer to the practice of charities packing groceries at supermarkets checkouts in return for a donation from the customer.It is, we understand, a very good way for them to raise funds.

But we would like to draw attention to two issues surrounding this practice:

1 It is a bit forward and rude of these people to assume without asking that someone wants them to pack their shopping. Surely they should have the manners to ask without grabbing groceries the minute the come though the checkout.

2 Possibly more important is the hygiene aspect of this. We once observed a woman who was on a packing team picking her nose. She turned around and wiped her hand in her clothing and then went back to packing groceries. So we left the queue. We would assume that the actual staff in the supermarket have some basic hygiene standards to adhere to. The question is if the people packing groceries adhere to these same standards. Shoppers do not know the personal hygiene habits of these folk and whether they have any illness. For all is known they could have MRSA and they are on a supermarket checkout handling food. If MRSA cannot be kept out of hospitals then how can it be kept out of the supermarket?

We wonder if this in any way comes under the Health and Safety Act and/or the Environmental Health Officer. Perhaps we will investigate.

Monday, March 3, 2008

Promise of Money

We have received the following email today. We have sent a mobile number to Drissa and eagerly await his call! Meanwhile we typed his name as given in his email address into Google....

Dear friend,

Greetings to you. I thank God that I have come across you and believeyou will not turn down my request. My name is Drissa diaby, I am 20 years old.

I am from Bouke in Cote D'ivoire, west Africa. I became an orphan last year when my father and my mother were murdered in Bouke in the northen parof Cote D'ivoire my home town. I was in school when the rebel new force went on rampage and killed people in the town suspected for supporting the government of Gbagbo. I was take from the school by a goodsamaritan and taken to Abidjan, where I am taking refuge. I am now staying with theold woman I call aunty, she is 53 years old and she has been trying here best for me.I am confuse as to what to do to claim my late father's deposit in a bank inAbidjan here. He deposited a sum of $6,200,000 (Six million Two hundred Thousand dollars ). This deposit was to be sent to his business partner in Europe but since the crisis they lost contact and I dont know about him and I dont know about theire transaction before he died. I am appealing to you in the name of God to help me provide a bank account so that I can transfer this money into and a safe place for me to move to after the transfer.I believe you are a reliable person that will not sit on the money and will provide a safe place where I can move to continue my studies. I promise to give you 15% of the total amount when the transfer is made. That will cover all your inconveniences and if you make any expenses while helping me.

Please send to me your telephone no. and let me know if you can reliably keep this only thing I have left in life with you safely.kindly contact me through this email: (drissa_diaby00@yahoo.fr)

I looking forward to hearing from you soon.

Thanks and remain bless.

Yours faithfully

Drissa diaby