The sun did finally come out and with the man flue subsiding I did manage to get out and take some pictures, including some of the cliff repairs by the park see http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/laptop210/Anyway while I was taking the pictures of the cliff repairs one of the workmen approached me asked me if I was the bloke that wrote the thanetonline blog, to which I obviously responded with a yes.
He said that I had taken some pictures of him and he didn’t like them being online, this is a first for me but I though he must have his reasons, so I explained to him that when I stopped putting up the long series of pictures at the end of last summer I got a lot of emails from people who couldn’t get out for a walk and as some of them were disabled, I now just took as many as I could and published them all up.
I went on to explain that this meant that I had thousands of pictures on the internet and while I would be happy to take the ones of him down, he would have to email me the internet address or addresses of the pictures and tell me roughly how far down the page they were.
Then he said, it’s the ones of the blockwork on the cliff wall I want you to take down there’s nothing wrong with it.
So I said, the last time I looked down there it didn’t have proper foundations and wasn’t tied to either the cliff or the supporting pillars.
He then said, do you mean you have been on the site and that that was trespassing.
I said to him, I had been on the site on many occasions and knew I was trespassing.
So he then said, right then we can get you for that, and walked off.
You really couldn’t make it up could you, as you can see from the pictures, even Goody Demolition the firm that did the vital heritage work on the Marina Restaurant were there working for the council see http://thanetonline.blogspot.com/search?q=goody
Oh I think you have hit a nerve, I hope you keep up the good work, you have a lot of support. Those who think they can tell us all what to look at photograph and comment on should remember who pays their wages. We do of course.
ReplyDeleteSad how few people realise that trespass is a civil not criminal offence. They can only 'get you for that' if you cause some damage (by breaking in, or by damaging stuff while you're there). If they were very excited they could try for an injunction, but trespass by itself just isn't something you can get someone for. Still nice to know all parties in this saga are gripped by your blog reports...
ReplyDeleteHear, hear, Lynn! This reaction would seem to indicate that some do not like to be confronted by the truth. I suspect the chap has been 'warned' about Michael by his superiors but did TDC advise them?
ReplyDeleteIf concrete foundations are shown on the plans for repair work and your pictures, Michael, show clearly that they are resting instead on chalk or an earth chalk mixture,then clearly the work paid for by the tax-payer has not been carried out correctly. Simples!
I imagine he wanted you to remove the pictures en bloc Michael.
ReplyDeleteI recall the 70s and my aunt having a ground floor extension built to her Cliftonville hotel.
"Are you sure builders and TDC that you can afford to ignore the efforts of the Luftwaffe in quite recent times ? Bombed during war. Should we have deeper footings"
Apparently not all would be well.
The building was completed and signed off by TDC. Then one day not long after it was signed off a vertical crack appeared. Fllor to ceiling then horizontally across ceiling and vertically down the other wall.
Bear in mind the design was that at some point in the future another floor would be built on.
And out came the miffed builders and you can guess what they said
"There was nothing wrong with our blockwork".
That would be why they had to put it right then ?
Lynn thanks for the support, I should ass that I make myself very conspicuous when I photograph and for the most part use a full size professional slr camera, as much so people who don’t want to be photographed can get out of the way as anything else.
ReplyDeleteZumi When I go on these missions where one has to trespass in order to get the shots one needs, I usually take some well known and prominent local person with me.
I do this mainly in case anyone in the council suggests that I have photshoped them up a bit, to make some point or another, so I am well covered on the fact that I didn’t commit any form of damage.
Frankly Bertie what I can’t understand is why the council would pay for a third party to patch up part of the mess, instead of going back to the original contractor.
As we are talking about a £1m contract here, it is bound to eventually come under some sort of scrutiny, isn’t it?
Rick I have been putting up Pleasurama related pictures on the web since April 2004 and now even I don’t really know how many are up there so it would be a pretty tall order.
The whole encounter was like something out of the school playground and all in all what worries me most is this ongoing lack of professionalism surrounding what after all is a major public safety issue.
Being the spineless sort, I always snap and run!
ReplyDeleteWith publishing them all on the web and running the bookshop there isn’t really anywhere for me to run Richard.
ReplyDeleteI have had a few close shaves with various people, when I am out and about with the camera, but also had some marvellous cooperation from people who want to appear in the photographs so it evens up really.
It's great that you are doing this as it seems that no one else seems to care. If we all sat back and did nothing then the world would be a worse place.
ReplyDeleteAdem the truth of the matter is that it fits in easily with what I do for a living, something that entails an awful lot of sitting about sort of half occupied.
ReplyDeleteIf it is a normal council contract their should be a guarantee of 15 years on the work, and a retention held until it is signed off by the councils chief engineer.
ReplyDelete