Neighbourhood Watch

I am on the Neighbourhood Watch email list. This doesn't mean I'm involved in Neighbourhood Watch, just that I get all the emails. Inevitably, I read a great deal about people being sworn at in the street, or worse, mugged. There are numerous reports of windows being forced and, just today, of someone's dog being attacked by a dog from another, presumably rougher area. While I'm not sure it does a person any good to know all this, I'm not against Neighbourhood Watch.  Crime is nasty - not that it's any nastier here than elsewhere, but in general, people being attacked on the street or having their stuff stolen is really, really unpleasant. I'm not slow in calling the police myself should I see something suspicious, so I like that someone is doing Neighbourhood Watch.

However, in amongst all the crime news, our Neighbourhood Watch leader has taken to referencing newspaper articles and I think it's fair to say, he has an agenda. Today, for example, he was suggesting we look at both The Standard - "COME CLEAN GORDON BROWN: THE WORST IS STILL TO COME" - and The Independent - Mark Steel's "SO THIS IS NEW LABOUR'S LEGACY" and a piece called, "IF I TRY TO MAKE A COMPLAINT BUREAUCRACY GETS IN THE WAY." This has been going on for a while, but someone is fighting back. Under the references to these articles, was a heading: CRITICISM ABOUT FORWARDING ARTICLES, in which Aimery of Conway Street bravely argues against something we were sent about the European elections, concluding with the rather splendid line: "Finally I think we need to be very careful mixing neighbourhood politics and policy with national or EU politics as I think in your capacity as a neighbourhood spokesperson you do need to maintain and air of neutrality." 

While I'm obviously saying, "Hear, hear" to Aimery, you have to see something plucky and British about Neighbourhood Watch man including this comment while clearly taking no notice of it whatsoever.   

Comments

[Ben]

I especially like the innovative way he uses a crime forum to introduce other topics.

I'm assuming "COME CLEAN GORDON BROWN: THE WORST IS STILL TO COME" was an article about the recession, not the crime rates.

[Anne]

I like the way he puts all headlines in upper case. Looks like he's shouting at us.