The Fencing Cometh
The Muddies , Maltby, Rotherham was once a small wood with a small pond.It lies on the outskirts of Maltby and is surrounded by housing and farm land. For several months of the year it is very wet and supports a variety of water amphibians including frogs and newts. The Great Crested Newt has used the land for breeding for at least forty years, but the land is under threat from development by RMBC.
Residents in the area have at last persuaded RMBC to erect a fencing along one boundary, in an attempt to prevent damage caused by "youths" congregating there. This has and is continuing to be a long and difficult struggle on the part of residents.
I am allowing myself some light relief today from the constant stream of emails and phone calls that this entails.
I present :
The fencing cometh (with apologies to Flanders and Swann)
‘Twas on a Monday morning that the Muddies fence began
And Streetpride came along to clear the rubbish, with their van.
They looked and saw the mess was just too much for them to do
So they rested through the morning and then after lunchtime too.
Oh it all makes work for the working man to do.
‘Twas on a Tuesday morning, the workmen came again
With bin liners and garden gloves it really was quite plain
That they could not shift the garbage that was lodged behind a tree
So they left it till tomorrow till they had a JCB.
Oh it all makes work for the working man to do.
‘Twas on a Wednesday morning that the JCB arrived
The task was not so easy still, no matter how they strived.
And then there was a problem that they really had to face –
The plans were not quite right and they had dug in the wrong place!
Oh it all makes work for the working man to do.
‘Twas on a Thursday morning, an ecologist on site.
His mission was to save the newts from what might be their plight.
He carefully made some homes for them from stones beside the dyke
And guided them from danger to a home that they would like.
Oh it all makes work for the working man to do.
‘Twas on a Friday morning that the area seemed clear
And erection of the fencing was now so very, very near.
But Friday night’s a reckless time for teenagers round here-
The dyke was filled with mattresses and empty cans of beer.
Oh it all makes work for the working man to do.
On Saturdays and Sundays, they do no work at all…..
So ‘twas on the Monday morning that Streetpriders came to call.
Residents in the area have at last persuaded RMBC to erect a fencing along one boundary, in an attempt to prevent damage caused by "youths" congregating there. This has and is continuing to be a long and difficult struggle on the part of residents.
I am allowing myself some light relief today from the constant stream of emails and phone calls that this entails.
I present :
The fencing cometh (with apologies to Flanders and Swann)
‘Twas on a Monday morning that the Muddies fence began
And Streetpride came along to clear the rubbish, with their van.
They looked and saw the mess was just too much for them to do
So they rested through the morning and then after lunchtime too.
Oh it all makes work for the working man to do.
‘Twas on a Tuesday morning, the workmen came again
With bin liners and garden gloves it really was quite plain
That they could not shift the garbage that was lodged behind a tree
So they left it till tomorrow till they had a JCB.
Oh it all makes work for the working man to do.
‘Twas on a Wednesday morning that the JCB arrived
The task was not so easy still, no matter how they strived.
And then there was a problem that they really had to face –
The plans were not quite right and they had dug in the wrong place!
Oh it all makes work for the working man to do.
‘Twas on a Thursday morning, an ecologist on site.
His mission was to save the newts from what might be their plight.
He carefully made some homes for them from stones beside the dyke
And guided them from danger to a home that they would like.
Oh it all makes work for the working man to do.
‘Twas on a Friday morning that the area seemed clear
And erection of the fencing was now so very, very near.
But Friday night’s a reckless time for teenagers round here-
The dyke was filled with mattresses and empty cans of beer.
Oh it all makes work for the working man to do.
On Saturdays and Sundays, they do no work at all…..
So ‘twas on the Monday morning that Streetpriders came to call.
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