Friday 18 July 2008

Friday - Holiday Day 5

We noticed this morning that apart from the black bag the bins we put out yesterday were still sitting there, waiting. My nearly-mother-in-law said that she had heard something about a strike. As I don't read the local paper I didn't know anything.

I decided to check the Council Website to see what they had to say. Nothing of any relevance. So I decided to call the Contact Centre to see what they had to say. Yes, indeed; the bin men were on strike on Wednesday and Thursday. I asked when I could expect my rubbish to be collected. Next week as usual I was told. I pointed out that my bins were full. Oh, you can use black bags I was told.

What is the point of them going on strike. Number 1, I didn't know about it (so excellent publicity!); Number 2, the only people they have inconvenienced is me and my neighbours who can't do anything about whatever it is that they are striking about anyway. Do they think that they are making a point to Greenwich Council? Do they think that Greenwich Council care that half the Borough didn't get their rubbish collected this week? No to both, I'd hazard a guess.

So, the flies will buzz around my 'green' bin for another week; my 'blue' bins will overflow... and ironically my black sacks which are best placed for non-collection were collected. Go figure.

On the topic of rubbish gripes, as expected now that the Summer is here (after a fashion) the food/composting bin is suffering badly from the flies and smell. It is the furthest bin from the front door, but you can still smell it as soon as you leave the house. I appreciate why the Council are organising the rubbish collections the way they are, I even applaud their efforts... but I still think that if they are going to insist that food waste is deposited un-wrapped (or barely wrapped) into the bin they should arrange for and finance regular sanitisation of said bins. Not going to happen, I know, so I guess I'll be arranging it myself.

This afternoon was devoted to playing my new Sonic the Hedgehog on the Xbox 360. Very much in the vein of all recent Sonic games it served to remind me why I usually only play games with a 'three years and up' rating (this has a 'twelve years and up'). I'm not very good at console games, I fare better with easier games. I get frustrated when the learning curve is too steep... I'd also forgotten the irritation of all Sonic games that when you 'die' and use up all your lives you go all the way back to the very start of the level. ARGH! Frustration beyond frustration... back to Indy for the rest of the day now to clear my mind for another Sonic attempt!