Thursday 7 January 2010

The Cold "Snap" - Don't wait for Dublin City Council to get a grip

Right, this is out of civic-mindedness and humanitarian priniciples. I'm not making any money for advertising these, nor am I expecting any sneaky brown envelopes to pass through the Gombeen Manor letterbox. No personal gain, right?

I had to traverse 100 metres from my workplace to the train today in Dublin city centre and nearly broke my pert little bottom on at least two occasions during the odyessy. So bad were things, indeed, that people abandoned the paths to share roadspace with skidding traffic in a vain attempt to remain perpendicular.

All this was after Michael Phillips, chief engineer with the the society of clowns otherwise known as Dublin City Council (the same lot inflicting Gaeilge-only placenames on us see here) was on radio saying they were not going to be gritted, as "resources were not available". And we still have another ten days of freezing weather to come.

I'm trying not to curse, as I'm determined not to let the high standards drop on Gombeen Nation. I'm trying, trying hard not to curse. Really. If you'll excuse me, I'll just pop outside for a minute.

Where was I? Look, if we wait any longer for these complete and utter incompetents to sort out the paths and roads we'll all be lying on trollies in the grounds of the local A&E, roaring with hip fractures and broken arses, as there won't even be enough room in the corridors.

So if you do any amount of walking at all on our treacherous footpaths, get yourself a set of these Yaktrax. It looks like they fit around your existing shoes, boots, trainers or slippers, as the case may be.

Then let me know if they work, as I'm very curious.

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6 comments:

Harald75 said...

<<< All this was after Michael Phillips, chief engineer with the the society of clowns otherwise known as Dublin City Council >>>

Really like that one, GM :)

Anonymous said...

yes it is true, read the papers...a huge no of additional patients in ( over stretched ) A & E with sprains / fractures....lets all stay mostly at home for 10 days ...Anna

Anonymous said...

Whey hey!

All th posties round our way have these... though not the expensive 'work boots'!

Anonymous said...

Dublin City Council TURNED DOWN free offers of grit from quarries...
And Defence Minister Wille O'Dea( when asked why the army with their heavy trucks, equipment & underused personnel had not gone immediately to the aid of local councils replied
"Because the local councils had not asked for help." Q- What KIND of national emergency WOULD there have to be before the army and defence Minister do as they are paid to do, and rush to the aid of local councils and the nation? Martians landing?
Q2- If, or maybe (hopefully) WHEN the Martians land, and utter the immortal words,"Take me to your leader," what DO we tell them? Because Dublin City Council, The Taiseach, the Defence Minister, the Army AND local councils don't seem to have much interest in alleviating the biggest freeze up in 30 yrs....Anna

Anonymous said...

….And the Marie Antoinette, ‘Let them eat cake award’ goes to FF Transport Minister Noel Dempsey ( who was on holiday in Malta ,20C, for all of this debacle , correction on post above, the biggest freeze in FORTY years- and coincidently only arrived back now, as the thaw finally allowed his delayed flight in- did that not tell him something about the conditions here? “I’m not responsible for the weather,” Dempsey said. True- but somehow his family chose the weather of sunny Malta. He continued, “If people can’t get off from work/ are unemployed and don’t have money for flights abroad, let them make snow balls.” Well I don’t think he actually said that, but given the above, he didn’t have to spell it out any further- i.e. stuff you, peasants.
* As the ‘40yrs ago’ column of Dundalk Democrat recorded for posterity that nothing was done in the big freeze of 1967, perhaps GN would be kind enough to record this for possible undecided FF voters of 2050. Thank you – Anna

Anonymous said...

Forget to mention the health Minister from the court of Marie A, well if the weather was crisis was nothing to do with Courtiers Defence & Transport surely Health minister might be interested? Especially when my fellow public servant Gene broke his arm on the snow? And then waited 2 days on a hard chair in A&E just to be seen? The weather wasn’t Genes fault. Nor his fault he couldn’t go to the sunny Med either with €2000 deducted from his pay in 2009 - and a further €2000 this year to pay the bankers- banking crisis not his responsibility either. Is there anything my hapless colleague can be responsible for …..who he votes for…ARISE Citoyens, nothing to lose but our clowns..Anna