Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
A lot of us do though Mark. (answer to #18)
Guest 705- Registered: 23 Sep 2010
- Posts: 661
...and don't forget 'Dover' -the people's ship...
Never give up...
Guest 640- Registered: 21 Apr 2007
- Posts: 7,819
And dont forget Doverforum itself. The people in action, all run voluntarily with no funding other than through our few adverts. I suppose it is the Big Society in action...But David Cameron cannot take the credit, we were here long before him, when his notion of a Big Society was just a twinkle in his youthful freshfaced Etonian eye.
So it is not something DC invented but it is something he is trying to expand on. He has wrapped it up in fresh packaging and here we are...but people are dozing off at the prospect of it all, the imagination though prodded has not been gripped.
Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
to be honest i cant see it taking of,there seems to be little or no intrest in it at all.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
Brian - it exists, it is happening, it is not new. To suggest what you did above is proven wrong by everyone involved in all sorts of groups in Dover. Big Society is huge in Dover. It is just a new expression for it.
Brian Dixon- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
any evidance of it around dover,apart from a few thats been mentiond,but must add that some that been mentiond have been going since the year dot around here.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
Brian - open your eyes - there are masses of groups doing all sorts of things for the town from charities, churches, am-drams, rotaries - the list is endless....
Guest 700- Registered: 11 Jun 2010
- Posts: 2,868
For the first time since we came to the village (40 years ago) our Parish Council organised a Litter-pick-up day, about a month ago.
Far more villagers turned up than expected, to help, resulting in dozens of bags of rubbish being collected, refreshments afterwards in the village hall.
EVERYONE ENJOYED IT... and met people in the village they did not know... For once, this event worked well.
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Lincolnshire Born and Bred
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
most of the voluntary organisations locally have been running for years and don't need a politician telling them what to do though a grant here or there would not go amiss.
as paul mentioned this forum is a valuable source of information and getting people together and has been running in various forms for about a decade.
kath
was the litter pick a result of the government prompting people or just a case that there was not so much litter before?
Did anyone watch the tv program about the street that took over all the council duties , i would love to no how they got on . I no its a sweeping statement but this big society wont work . The country is to divided .
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
Howard - you just dont get it.
The idea is not that politicians tell anyone what to do, the Big Society is to get away from that. The less politicians interfere the better and let people get on with their lives, take care of themselves and their own and not expect the government to do for them what they could do for themselves.
Mark - Kath's example is of how it IS working and everyone out there who do thing for other people, organise things, get involved all without pay are examples of this.
Jan Higgins
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,888
Those of us that are volunteers get as much out of what we do as the recipients, I have made so many new friends since I started in the shop, much better than being stuck at home on the computer all day.
Some of the sceptics should try volunteering, even if only one hour a month, instead of knocking what the government is trying to achieve.
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I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
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Should we have less well paid polititians then Barry ?
Guest 656- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 2,262
Rock on Doverforum, you and your team have been part of the 'Big Society' for many a year
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
sadly barry i do get it, i refuse to be brainwashed by dave.
the actions by volunteers that you refer to are such as clean ups have been going on since time immemorial.
the natural extension is that street cleaning will be left to residents, what if they refuse to do it?
it should be explained clearly what government are distancing themselves from, then peopl might have a better idea of the "big society".
it is the job of government to explain themselves clearly to the people, this they are failing to do.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
Mark - the less politicans do the better value they are.
Perhaps they should have their pay linked to the amount they interfere in our lives.
Cut their pay in response to the more they spend, the more they legislate and the more they interfere, increase their pay everytime they get rid of a law and reduce public spending.
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
Howard - the simple fact is that government does too much - time to get the so and sos off our backs so we can get on with our lives.
Guest 645- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 4,463
The principle is to be commended,the practicalities are that it will be the same volunteers and people doing more for the community whilst the lazy and bone idle continue to sit on their fat arses watching Jeremey Kyle on daytime tv.
I'd prefer it if DC and his school chums concentrated on the economy and the swingeing cuts culture which was much critised by Obama during his visit here.
Marek
I think therefore I am (not a Tory supporter)
Guest 655- Registered: 13 Mar 2008
- Posts: 10,247
What critisism Marek? The Obama administration have started cutting further and faster than Cameron's goverment. I did provide the comparison on my blog recently.
I just wish there were such 'swinging' cuts as some would have people believe, the economy after an inital hit would recover a lot faster and stronger afterwards.
Guest 698- Registered: 28 May 2010
- Posts: 8,664
Barry you might want to put the 'e' into swingeing otherwise people might get the wrong idea!
I'm an optimist. But I'm an optimist who takes my raincoat - Harold Wilson