Recently I commented on the homeless of Wellington - they were back in the news today with the council Csidering a bylaw to make it illegal to (I think it was) sleep in public. The Demon Post editorial featured the Bucket Man again as they commented on this bylaw. Apparently it would make falling asleep in a meeting an arrestable offence. Good to see some councillors saying they would not support it. Perhaps they too get tired of listening to bores...One week a vagrant dieing is front page news, the next week the council would make snoozing in the park criminal.
It was so cold in the office today I went up the road at lunchtime and bought long underwear to help me through the afternoon. They turn the heating off for the whole building in the weekend, and as it is not turned on again till 7 on Monday morning, it is a cold start to the week. So many complaints they actually rang the heating company to do something about it, but then we had a fire drill in the afternoon, perhaps as revenge. The building certainly felt warmer after spending 20 mins on the side of the road in the southerly.
R ended up telling Shona to bring us the kitten. She got named Spook, and she deserves it.
Thesis pounding along well. Looks like we are going to submit another chapter for publication in the next month. It's a major expansion of this paper, which shows only one turnip population, while the new one has 6. I think!, it has been a while since I wrote it.
Posted by Toni at July 7, 2003 09:59 PMdid you see the headline a few days ago? Apparently the council is going to "sweep the streets clean" of homeless people. Sick.
Robert's funeral is at 2:30 today, at St Andrew's on the Terrace.
Posted by: Fi at July 8, 2003 11:19 AMOne of the council's motivations seems to be that some of our good citizens are uncomfortable seeing homeless people.
I suspect it's mutual.
Sheesh, it's not like we have an epidemic of homelessness. Surely those who want life to be sanitised and Disney-like can stick to their nice tidy suburbs and pretend the rest of the world's like that? Or go somewhere like San Francisco and see what homelessness looks like when it's a serious problem.
Wouldn't it be nice if the council was actually concerned about these people, and not just appearances?
Perhaps we should have a grunge pyjama party in Civic Square? (Except that it's damned cold.)
Posted by: iona at July 8, 2003 02:21 PMBy "these people" I meant the ones sleeping on the streets, not the ones offended by the sight of them.
Posted by: iona at July 8, 2003 02:26 PMhee. perhaps nice gated communities for the fearful?
i sent a letter to the dompost about this but don't know if it will get in. i said the council should make the areas where people are sleeping cleaner & a bit more comfy. (cushions on all the outdoor seating?!)
Posted by: bec at July 8, 2003 04:12 PMBed-benches (like sofa-beds) that fold out!
Posted by: iona at July 8, 2003 04:27 PM