Electioneering promises (From Gazette & Herald)

Electioneering promises

I AM surrounded by electioneering promises and as I write, on polling day, I wonder whose are going to be put to the test in the ensuing years.

I've now had the Tory promises, as well as the Liberals Democrats, many of which are about matters which do need attending to, and all these nice folk, anxious to serve, will no doubt find that making reality of their ambitions is often a hard slog. I have not been happy with local government since the introduction of a huge 'salary' to councillors. Well, it's called expenses, but I feel such payments should be based on what a councillor actually does, and not several thousands of pounds of our money whether he or she does, or does not do anything. Making attractive payments to would-be members, can, and I am sure does, throughout the whole country, bring on to councils, those who are more interested in some extra cash for just sitting at meetings. Parish councillors, and that includes town councillors, don't get paid; they do it as a way of serving their community. Once you start paying fixed sums, it spoils the original principle of what is known as local government.

Two Malton Town councillors, at the last meeting, were concerned that their nomination papers actually related to the district council, and not the town council, and I suspect that all Malton town candidates probably got the wrong papers also. Legally, I'm not sure what implications this might have, for I know that elections are very serious affairs and what the explanation of this is, will be interesting to know. Also, a notice included with the same papers gave the date for return of the papers as before noon on Thursday, April 1, 2003. Fortunately, someone spotted this error, and a correction label was printed and stuck on the notice, altering the day to Tuesday, and they came out duly amended. Mistakes just didn't ever happen as far as election documents were concerned. I've never seen it before and it seems that standards aren't as high as they should be.

It's over ten years since I mentioned another Malton, apart from the only one generally known, in Ontario, Canada, which got its name from folks hereabouts. This Malton is actually a golf club which is in Malton Meadows and Malton Ponds, about eight miles south-west of Cambridge.

There was a village of Malton owned by Lady Margaret Beaufort, mother of King Henry VII, who gave it to Christ's College, Cambridge, as refuge from the plagues. It remained with the college until the 1970s. There are early traces of civilisation there, evident from the Iron Age, and Roman pottery found close to the Roman road, and medieval trackways cross the site of the ancient village, which include the Great Potters Way. Malton Farm was all that was left of the former village. A lady I met whilst out cycling in the early 1990s told me that a farmer from here, Mr Marr, seeking a change of scenery in the 1930s bought Malton Farm, because of its name, and farmed it until the early 1980s. The original map of Malton Estate, of 1860, is held at Cambridge University. It would be interesting to learn if Malton Farm is still there.

When I walk past the ex-CWS showrooms in Wheelgate, I am often reminded of the time when they ran their own furniture store and there was some 'tie-up' with the prize of a Morris Mini being offered by some national firm. They asked me if I could loan them a new Mini Minor and put it in their showroom window to advertise the big sales drive they were having. I came down from York Road and looked at the Co-op doors, and at the Mini, measured them both and thought it just might be done. I remember getting the front end through and then realising that there wasn't enough room to turn the vehicle round to face Wheelgate. So out I came, and made a backwards approach. As the amount of spare room was about half-an-inch at each side, it was absolutely necessary to go dead straight. With gentle persuasion, I managed this, and was then able to make a forward approach towards the window. Amongst the furniture it made quite an eye-catching display. A red car, if I remember rightly. After about a fortnight, I recovered it and things reverted to normality again.

Those missing collection-time tags on post-boxes are still a subject of conversation, and indeed complaint. Whilst I was told that the boxes would be cleared at the same times as they used to be, this was all right provided you still knew what those times were. And, as you may recall, I queried whether or not it was necessary to know, anyway. Anomalies occur, for two birthday cards posted on Monday morning, well before what was the midday collection, in different boxes, less than a mile apart, both first class stamped reached London a day apart. One Wednesday morning and the other on Thursday morning, missing the birthday. Difficult for the layman to understand.

From a church newsetter: "For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs."

Updated: 14:46 Wednesday, May 14, 2003