[Ben Reeve Lewis has done his first gig for 20 years ..]
Well I did it. My first gig for 20 years last Saturday night at Old Colfeians Rugby Club in Lee.
Thanks to the magic properties of beer the audience were immune to our many and varied foul ups, we even got people singing along and dancing.
Were we good? …….well, we got away with it, is probably the most accurate summation.
The last gig
Serendipitously I bumped into a guy I hadn’t seen in an age who reminded me that he had attended the last gig I did.
Woolwich Tramshed in 1994, where a 28 stone male stripper got up to share the encore singing Wild Thing, stripped butt naked as a result of which we were banned from the Tramshed for life, which I thought was a tad harsh.
But he filled me in on the part of the story I didn’t know, that the stripper had punched the venue manager’s wife when she protested at his naked shenanigans, so I understand the manager’s reaction.
Now THAT’S a way to end a career I’m sure you’ll agree! A crap gig and a naked brawl with an obese stripper.
I’m having to get ahead of the game this week as I’m away training the good staff of the homelessness unit for Poole Council for a few days, at a time when I am normally writing this column, so it might not be as up to date as I would like.
Getting benefit tenants a bad name …
Dodgy housing fraudsters however are always topical and I read of Angella Brown, a Croydon resident who lied about being homeless to obtain a council house whilst driving around in a Beemer and sending her kids to private schools.
She had managed to trouser £43,000 in benefits she wasn’t entitled to over a 10 year period and got 12 months in nick.
Of course she will be in a Cat D prison after two months, which will afford her weekends at home and even the chance to work outside and she’ll be released after 4 months. As usual the punishment doesn’t really fit the crime and is little deterrent.
Accelerating the acclerated procedure
Many landlords will be heartened by the news that from November the 12th accelerated claims for possession can now be started using an online form, a service previously denied for such cases.
I always thought it a pointless omission, given that section 8 claims could always be kick-started on PCOL whilst the generally mainly administrative process for accelerated claims was denied [the new service is not the same as PCOL Ben, its just an easy way to complete the form – you still have to print it off and send it through the post- Ed].
It doesn’t make a hap-Perth of difference to the tenant, who is screwed whatever way you look at it.
Naming gypsies
Whilst training the Poole council teams yesterday we got into a discussion about gypsies and travellers and I suddenly realised that I don’t know what we are supposed to call them these days.
I’ve been in housing for long enough to remember when you could get sacked for saying ‘Gypsy’. You had to say ‘Traveller’ but apparently it’s back to Gypsies now and Travellers are something else.
So I was helped by reading an article in Inside Housing about a protest from gypsy and traveller groups saying that changes in the law mean that their needs won’t be properly assessed.
Looks like we can say gypsy again with impunity.
In the comments below the article, ‘Man with Abacus’ quite rightly pointed up some other linguistic gems that need clarifying
“I think the CLG should have started redefining elsewhere..how about…’affordable rent’ that actually is?..’Transparent’ regulation that people can see happening?…’Value for money’, regulation that doesn’t rely on expensive advisers and consultants?…’Housing delivery’. Programmes that do!”
Way to go my man.
Whose buying up London?
The Opt Connect website gave us some interesting figures that Chinese, Russian and Arab property investors are taking a back seat to Africans when it comes to buying prime central London property as investment opportunities.
Since 2007 the rich of Africa account for around half of all purchases.
The report tells us that Angola is the next one to watch, with investors from that country coming up the inside straight.
If you read my article last week I reported on a family renting two properties from different housing associations, sub letting them and pocketing the extra whilst living in Angola. Maybe that’s where the money comes from. Recycling of a sort.
The makeup of social housing
The really interesting news item this week comes from a report published by the University of York on the makeup of social housing tenants.
The figures reveal that contrary to the opinions of so many cab drivers, single mothers and migrants get no extra priority in the allocation of social housing.
The report took three years of research found the following interesting points:
“• Two thirds of residents who could reasonably be expected to work do. Despite this, however, three quarters were faring no better than ‘holding steady’ financially, given the nature of their work, hours and levels of pay
• Being in work does not always guarantee financial security – many of the jobs taken by residents do not necessarily lead to a steady state financially
• Respondents generally wait a long time to secure a social housing tenancy and, consequently, place a high value on it
• Social housing tenancy was seen as supporting people through many of the challenges of life, protecting and strengthening the family unit, insulating against shocks which might otherwise lead to homelessness, and offering the opportunity to aspire and to achieve independence from benefits.
Cameron and Osborne and particularly Lord Fraud and IDS need to be battered around the head with a copy of this until they cry for mercy.
CEO of Circle Housing Mark Rogers said:
“This research shows there are no easy answers for policy makers. Social housing residents are not ‘shirkers’, but a diverse, complex mix of ordinary households trying to get by and thrive in the best way they can.”
Nice one.
What made me smile this week
A collection of the top 40 most crass and embarrassing quotes from Richard Madeley
of Richard and Judy fame proving that Alan Partridge is not in fact a fictional character. My favourite quote being something he said to the late reality TV celeb Jade Goody:
“You’re quite sharp. Its just in the pure sense of the word that you’re ignorant”
AH-HAAAAAA.
See ya next week.
Ben – it’s “who’s”.