Health & Safety

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OFFICIAL AND UNOFFICIAL STUPIDITY...

By Pete & Nikki 

Take a look at the photo on the left, with Pete acting as a blind person, walking along the public footpath from TK MAXX to STAPLES in Stevenage Town Centre.

Of course, if you are blessed with the power of sight, you will be able to see that to get from one place to the other, you would need to take a quick turn left, to avoid hitting your head on the top of the underpass.

On the other hand, if you are blind and have to rely on a stick, there is no way you would know that the headroom is only 1.3m (which is signposted for sighted people) - and walking straight on would result in a nasty injury.

TAKE NOTE STEVENAGE COUNCIL!

Now on to our second example of stupidity, spotted by us recently at The Hyde Shopping Centre Stevenage...

Councils may be stupid at times, but what about THIS example (pictured right) for a really bad and selfish bit of parking?

The parking space is clearly marked for use by disabled drivers only, whilst the corner section is clearly marked for NO PARKING, - and yet this idiot has parked in such a way that a disabled driver could not possibly get into the designated space without blocking this idiot in!

It would serve them right if someone DID park there...

IT MAKES US WONDER HOW THESE PEOPLE ARE EVER ALLOWED ON THE ROAD AT ALL!!

To get a clearer view of the number plate, click on the bottom R/H corner of the photo to enlarge!

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A STRETCH TOO FAR!

By Pete Perry

When Nikki and I were shopping in Tescos recently, we realised we needed some eggs. Being fussy about my eggs, and a campaigning environmentalist to boot, I go for the dozen box of large free-range ones.

I was getting something else, but when I turned around, I noticed that Nikki (a petite 5' 1" tall) was struggling to get the eggs I like from the top shelf, which must have been over six foot up!

Now, not only is this frustrating for people of smaller stature, it is positively dangerous, and really doesn't make any economic sense either!

A person of small stature trying to reach eggs that far up with their fingertips could easily bring the eggs down on top of them, causing mess and damage, - and of course, those eggs would then also have to be written off.

 We have noticed the same practice st Sainsbury's.

WHY DO SUPERMARKETS DO THIS?

Pete

 DO THE SUPERMARKETS READ WIDGERIPOO?

CLICK HERE



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Nikki has Her Say

 WHERE HAVE ALL THE SEATS GONE?

I was rather annoyed and upset the other day when Pete & I went food shopping at Sainsburys at Coreys Mill Stevenage. It was a very hot day, and as Pete's wife and main carer, I wanted my husband to take a rest so that he could get his breath back.

I then noticed that there was only one bench seat, which was occupied by an elderly couple. SO WHAT HAS HAPPENED THE REST OF THE BENCHES FOR OTHERS TO REST ON?

There are plenty of people who suffer badly in hot weather, especially the elderly and disabled. This isn't just a problem at Sainsburys either.  Tesco, Asda, Aldi, The Co-op, they are all the same - not enough seats inside or outside the stores for people to rest.

THESE STORES GET PLENTY OF MONEY FROM THEIR CUSTOMERS, BUT WHEN IT COMES TO CUSTOMER COMFORT, IT IS NON-EXISTENT!

I was NOT impressed!

We spend our money at these stores,  so the least they could do is look after their customers comfort needs!

Love & Peace

 NIKKI X 

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MORE SELFISH PARKING EXPOSED

By Pete Perry

Once again, Nikki and I took a walk down the shops (The way the price of petrol is going, we might ALL have to walk) to see if the custom of parking on the pavement has improved, since we did our last piece on this thoughtless practice (see bottom of this page).

Well, - GUESS WHAT? Nothing has changed, - maybe apart from getting worse!

Have a look at these pictures, and tell me - how you suppose a blind person, or a disabled person in a wheel chair is supposed to negotiate these badly-parked vehicles?

As you can see from the picture on the right, this lorry was parked completely up on the pavement, and Nikki had to walk blindly into the road to pass. Imagine if she had been a wheelchair user? 

THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE ILLEGAL, SO WHERE ARE THE POLICE?.

Click on bottom R/H corner of pictures to enlarge

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ON THE TRAIL OF THE GIANT HOGWEED

Way back on 22nd March 1975, Pete Perry highlighted the dangers of the Giant Hogweed, because it had appeared on waste land in Stevenage, Hertfordshire.

Now the plant, known to botanists as Heracleum Giganteum, is again growing in the same area of Stevenage, by Elder way, and close to the retail park, and nobody is doing a thing about it.

Giant Hogweed, when touched, can cause severe blistering of the skin, and the rash can last for anything up to seven years. In some cases, where people are particularly sensitive to such things, it can cause toxic shock syndrome, which could, in the worse-case scenario, cause death.

Pete has been keeping an eye on this plant locally every decade since 1975, and has reported it in the local newspapers and local television every decade since then, - and yet STILL Stevenage Borough Council have not got on top of the situation. In this, the latest outbreak, the council know who own the land, but will not make their knowledge public. THE FACT IS, THAT, ALTHOUGH THE GIANT HOGWEED IS GROWING ON PRIVATE LAND, THAT LAND IS NOT FENCED OFF, AND PEOPLE REGULARLY USE IT FOR WALKING DOGS, AND CHILDREN OFTEN PLAY IN THE AREA, WHICH IS CLOSE TO THE RETAIL PARK.

HAS SOMEONE GOT TO GET SERIOUSLY ILL BEFORE THE COUNCIL ACT?

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Below are a couple of Pete's ironic cartoons, published in The Stevenage Comet newspaper in the 1980s...

Click on bottom R/H corner of picture to enlarge

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