John Pilgrim: Things were so much more civilised back in the good old days

I SAW a man sweeping the gutters in the road with a broom the other afternoon.

No I wasn’t imagining things it actually happened. It’s true that I was watching an early episode of The Professionals on TV at the time but it did serve to remind me just how civilised things used to be.

I’m sorry but I don’t know what the current title is for what we used to call The Road Sweeper. I know that the people who empty our wheelie bins are called by a fancy name these days but I can’t recall what it is. So I do apologise but only to the people who empty the wheelie bins because I haven’t seen a Road Sweeper in years.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

I have seen a guy who uses a pair of pincer like things on a length of pole to pick up sweet papers and things and the same person ignores any rubbish thrown into verge side bushes by the local residents who really care what happens in their neighbourhood.

I have taken to sweeping the gutters and clearing them of weeds outside my house because I have never seen one of those motorised things they sometimes use around local shopping centres, I think it’s called a Road Sweeper!

I don’t entirely blame the local authorities because it is down to all of us to try to ensure that public places are kept tidy but sadly it is a thing of the past to see people actually picking up litter.

I actually witnessed a teenager the other day kicking a bottle across the path and when it broke he just walked off. Such is the way of the world that we live in that I didn’t try to ask him to pick it up because I would more than likely been subjected to a mouthful of abuse or even physical injury.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Since we are currently stuck in the middle of the political party’s annual get together it is interesting to hear what they are promising us this time.

Naturally there is a long period to go until another General Election so every offer imaginable is left open to them. Including saying sorry for last time they where in power!

I am much more interested in learning just how much these political types can earn at second and third or more jobs. I’m pretty sure that a lot of ordinary people who have no employment at all would be only too pleased to have their name on a piece of headed paper!

There’s chap named Tony who seems to be making a rather good living at the moment I wonder how he spent his time in politics, could he have been building up a really good contacts book?