“As prince Phillip says!
Our representative from the south, can promote himself as much as he seems to think is necessary to get him the votes to stay in his job, but, the city is a tip.
headlines are one thing they can do, they can promote the" big action " supposedly being taken as much as they want, if you see a change you will be more concerned about the flying pigs than you are about the Canada geese.
I have been in contact with the "worthies" on numerous occasions, platitudes a plenty, actions nil.one day at the Hanley 'bus station, for example, would pay for inspectors for twelve months, if they fined everyone they caught dropping cigarette ends on the floor.Look for yourselves, see the filth, you will find it easy, you will have the assistance of FOUR LARGE sodium vapour lamps that are lit 24 HOURS a day, at a probable cost to you of £18 pounds a day. The action men in the council have been made aware of these for over two months now. One of them, suggests leaving them until the new 'bus station is built in two years time. "How is that responsible council action being wielded for the good of the people of Joke-on-Trent?
Start at the centre, clean up Hanley, (as you insist is the city center) the place where visitors are likely to touch down first, work out to Normacot and the other places, where the people seem not to bother that they are living in filth, few people that don't live there make a special journey to go there, it's a shame if you are forced to pass through such ghettos, as they are fast becoming.
Whats the betting that the first people to notice an improvement will be the council themselves? Who will notice dramatic improvements? Who will attempt to show that the (expensive) initiative has been a success , and that the duke will be proud of us?”

“"The actual enforcement will be the final stage of the project because we are hoping that we can change people's behaviour without resorting to issuing penalty notices." What???? Why is it that when we have all the necessary laws in place to control peoples' behaviour that we have to have civil servants inventing new ways of keeping the disgruntled silent with "new" initiatives? It's just like ASBO's - why do we need them when we have laws preventing breach of the peace? We have plenty of adequate laws out there. New rules & regulations mean absolutely nothing if they are not enforced! Still its keeps the majority of us moaners quiet to stop us making waves for our overpaid, couldn't care less rulers in their ivory towers.”

“It's a lost cause. British people, on the whole, are a slovenly race -and nothing's going to change that.

Just get used to it. Accept it. When it comes to pride in our towns and cities, we're way down the league compared to the likes of Germany and the Scandinavian Countries. They're spotless and it's a joy to walk down their streets..

Shabbiness is ingrained in our psyche.

You only have to observe how our cafés are run. When people vacate the tables and leave a café on the Continent -the staff are at the table clearing away the dirty dishes almost before they are through the door.

Not so in Britain. It's normal to go into a café in any town in the land here in the UK, and while you may find a table cleared and ready for you, you will get attended to, served, consume your meal and leave -while all the time surrounded by tables still not cleared, the staff meanwhile having a quick drag on a fag and a natter outside the back door.

Same with our Wheelie Bins. There's an ever growing tendency to leave them out all the year round -out on the pavement, instead of putting them back in the yard.

Why kid ourselves it's ever going to be any different? As I said -it's ingrained. It's us. It's British..”

“Every where in Stoke on Trent is strewn with litter. There's an abundance of people out of work. Get cracking and make some worthwhile jobs to get this City cleaned up. Fine litter bugs and keep at them until they pay up or take it out of their benefits if they are claiming. Action is needed, not all this talking about it.”