Over the past few months our telly screen has been constantly alive with assorted adverts, pleas and attempts at making the viewer feel guilty as numerous messages are played out concerning us as Joe Public contributing ‘only’ assorted amounts from £2 a month to £5 or texting so that other amounts can be debited from our phone accounts – in fact any means to get money is utilised.
I worked it out not so long ago that if I comply with their kindred wishes to help everything from donkeys to fresh water supplies to tigers and ponies to banana straighters etc, it would cost about £34 upwards a month and with the added inner joy of not having moved from our dining table and is progress in some respects as this would perhaps keep the tin shakers and rattlers off the streets and in the warm on a foggy day.
However these adverts cost money both to make in production costs plus they don’t come cheap and one line of thought is if they have all this loot to throw at these campaigns perhaps it might be sensible to give that loot to the cause direct, but based on this concept might the council consider turning the area into a similar charity and we too could have our taxes cut as the outcome because all the above adverts are still running so must be paying one would assume.
I have bunged a draft together based on the usual patronising stuff we get: cue slow monotonous piano music, fade into a picture of an upturned take-away container and glide into a voice over thus: “..Only £2 a month will make all the difference between a thriving town and a drop off point for Springfields along the A16, so just give a £2 a month to the S O S (Save Our Spalding) Appeal.”
It’s just an idea but based on some of the brain storming stuff of late, perhaps no sillier but could mean all the difference to the locals.
John Ward
Moulton Seas End