Get off yer Backsides!

While having a few of the black ones the pub last week I got to talking to a young lad of about thirty that was in for a similar hit, and who was giving out about the state of the council, leaning on their shovels, arriving for work late, extended tea breaks, and any other bit of idling they could get up to. Sure, people were talking about the council on the radio all day as well so it was fine to do it.

Now God bless them if those lads can get away with it, and I know that shoveling is a tough job cos God knows  I’ve spent enough time doing it myself, but surely they themselves realise that if they don’t pull up their breeches they themselves will be joining the dole queues as have some of their compatriots already due to this damn recession thing that’s apparently going on at the moment.

Still, saying that last week when the heavens were opening and we were all inside cowering from the though of getting a little wet, they were the ones outside in the lashing rain. Or, as we sped by in our nice cosy cars drowning them intentionally with the spray from the puddles on the road, while at the same time giving out about them leaning on their shovels, dripping from head to toe.

So, there was my young friend at the bar, with an expression of hurt on his face, giving out about the water coming in the front gate off the road and tearing up his drive, and that the useless council couldn’t be bothered to unblock the drain that was causing the problem. It struck me that with all the water that had fallen so suddenly, and that all the newly fallen leaves were being washed away at the same time, and that the council they were back in numbers because of a severe lack of money, that there was no way that they could clear all the pools of water on the roads in a instant. For Gods sake I had to clear a drain myself  with my banjaxed knee and everything, and it only took me five minutes, AND it was outside my neighbours house! Yet regardless, we’re more than happy to give out about them at any chance. Giving out seems to me like a national obsession at the moment … what would we talk about otherwise?

What I’m trying to say is that we’ve become a bunch of whingers. A long time ago, when I was a young lad, we were brought up to stop whinging and just go and do what needed to be done, so if we had seen the drain to be blocked we would have just unblocked it, and that would have been the end of it! The next time that there’s water on the road outside your house, get off your backside and go out and unblock it if possible (god help you, you might get wet in the process), but you’ll make life on the roads a little safer for everyone else and you’ll feel happy with yourself for doing the right thing for once. You can then listen to your friends whinging about the problem elsewhere, and wonder when will they ever cop on!

The days of getting everything done for you are over. If you’re not willing to help yourself in future, you’re done for!

The Grumpy Old Fella is a new column from a local resident who would like to post his thoughts every now and again that are getting under his collar, with a little humour thrown in for good measure.