Seileachan What is this Middle Class Twaddle?

[Bit of a Mink]

Am I the only one who is finding the so called community newsletter aka Seilachan increasingly irritating and yes this month particularly toe curlingly embarrassing?
The editoral brought colour to my cheeks, I writhed with embarrassment as I read the complete twaddle contained therein.
In fact it is the awfulness of it that prompted my joining the seil forum so I could put my ore in.
It was a very biased issue as regards to the mains sewerage works going on and I resent the community newsletter being used as a springboard for the peronal opinions of the editor.
With reference to the "wounds inflicted on the landscape", obviously this was OK when his own house was in the course of construction and inflicting it's appearence on the "otherwise pleasant landscape. "
As regards the ode at the end of this increasinly middle class magazine page meeted out each month I have yet to see anyone actually drink a cup of the "pure" effluent trickling down the banks from a dear old septic tank. Stress isnot something felt by a dead ocean floor.
Stop being such a greeting shower for heavens sake, everything will be tidied up and in many cases left in a better state than it was before.
There I feel better now

[spiderman]

B:lol: Welcome......and good on ya!

While I, and others (see the Balfour Beattie thread), agree with your aggravation with the Seil-sewager moaning minnies, please remember that the Seil news letter fulfills a useful local function, ie disseminating info about current local and community council issues and that the editor sticks his neck out on our behalf doing his time-consuming work on a purely voluntary and goodwill basis. Most folk I've talked to think the current editor does a damn good job. The great thing is that, if you don't like his editorial comments, you can say so by contributing not just to this blog site but also to the news-sheet itself - or you can stand for the community council which is soon having an election. Anyway, Seil is a nicely mixed society and there's plenty scope for you and the editor.

[Bit of a Mink]

I agree with most of what you say Spiderman, glad you used the term "nicely mixed society" as there is certainly no small island community feel here these days,
There is no doubt that the editor is a very public spirited chap, and good for him.
However I do think the last edition contained some very peronal biased opinions and that I don't like, a news letter should be just that.
Has anyone yet said thanks for the improvments boys?

[spiderman]

Every newspaper contains an editorial expressing the editor's view and no news medium is totally objective. Why should the Seileachan be any different? It's obvious that, in this latest issue, the editor was trying to inject a bit of humour into things and, in my view, he's to be commended for that. There are expressions of appreciation to the BB boys on the other thread I mentioned and, assuming that the whole thing eventually works, then that will really be the time for thanks. In the meantime, the guys are doing a good job in difficult circumstances and they're cheery and friendly too. It's just that the temporary disruption isn't pleasant and so it's not surprising that some folk just moan all the time about it.

[NickB]

.

assuming that the whole thing eventually works, then that will really be the time for thanks

My thoughts exactly. It would appear that the geology of Seil has come as a complete surprise to the contractors in several places . . . how many of those criticising the 'moaning minnies' have had a large jackhammer banging away 12 hours a day for several weeks outside their house? Just go and stand beside one of these machines for five minutes before you post again, and ask yourself if you would be so sanguine if you had been one of the many unfortunates subjected to this. It is easy to criticise NIMBYs when it is not your BY

(We are one of the more fortunate properties where connection to the system is likely to cause minimal noise and disruption, but I have enough imagination to understand the frustration of those who have had their life turned into a cacaphonous nightmare with WW1 battlefield views for weeks at a time. I could not have carried on running my business from home if we lived in one of these properties, I would have had to rent somewhere else for the duration.)

As for this 'being grateful' nonsense - why should we be? As council tax payers Seilachans are as entitled as anyone else to efficient waste disposal facilities. Asking if they are being provided in the best way possible in terms of cost to the public purse and environmental disruption is not moaning . . . and the idea that the powers behind this are doing it for OUR benefit as individuals is naive in the extreme.

The Balfour Beattie boys are the heroes in all this, and I think it is their general cheeriness and good PR that has kept most people in a reasonably calm frame of mind during what are unpleasant times for many residents, even if they are only mildly annoying for those of you who do not have the Somme on their doorstep and whose only contact is the occcasional journey into Oban.

So - hats off to the contractor and the men on the ground - and thank god its not the last (Scottish Water) lot let loose with this project. I still think it is quite understandable for people to ask whether this was the right way to go about modernising our sewage disposal facilities, and am surprised at the 'big brother knows best' attitude of some of the posters on here. Governments national and local and their advisors have been known to make the odd questionable decision . . .

Mink, Cheeky and Mona - do you have a jackhammer going all day at the bottom of your wrecked gardens? If you have and you can remain sanguine then good on you, but not all citizens are as saintly. I believe the reinstatement will be fine and we will once again live in a green and pleasant place, but it will take a while - and two or three years living amid a blighted landscape is quite a long time for anyone. I think a little more sympathy with the unhappy ones is called for.

And yes, let us fervently pray that the design engineers got it right and that it won't be necessary to dig too many bits of it up again too often, and let us also hope that it does produce real benefits in terms of improved water quality and reduced costs for our local shellfish industry, as I can't see what other everyday tangible benefits it will bring. It's been a long time since the last cholera outbreak and the electricity consumption of the new system will do nothing to reduce greenhouse gas emissions!

And as for the Seilachan - it is what it is, accept it. If you want a wider range of views come onto this forum, but constantly slagging off the Seilachan, the Community Council, the Hall Committee or whatever body is currently annoying you will not encourage those involved to embrace the new medium and expand the debate, will it?

- N

[Mona Lott]

With respect, Nick, you have contributed a load of emotive drivel here! I had "the pecker" and JCBs right outside my house for 5 weeks. You - and certain emotive nutters on the island - exaggerate the level and duration of the noise. At its peak, it's not pleasant of course but it's not a cacophonous nightmare ( ) nor is it sufficient to justify jumping down into the pit shouting at the guys ( ) or to write exaggeratedly negative nonsense to the OT ( ). Nor will the environmental blighted scars ( ) or the Somme ( ), as you term them, take 3 years to disappear. Indeed the reinstatements already carried out have been impressive. I expect the reinstatement of the road also to be excellent and look forward to an island soon which no longer discharges raw sewage from hotel and homes alike directly into the sea (except from Yachties of course!).

[NickB]

.
To use the word respect and post what is essentially a vituperative personal attack is a little ironic don't you think Mona? A little more time spent in composition and a few less smilies might give your post more credibility. Try looking up the word 'emotive' in a dictionary and I think you will find we have at best a pot/kettle situation here.

You - and certain emotive nutters on the island - exaggerate the level and duration of the noise. At its peak, it's not pleasant of course but it's not a cacophonous nightmare

Maybe you have better glazing than some, and anyway everyone's tolerance level is different. You really don't show much sympathy fo the viewpoint of others here or elsewhere in your posts - which is IMO an essential quality for rational debate. Had our house been one of those in the most affected area I would have - as I said - had to move out to be able to continue working.

Nor will the environmental blighted scars ( ) or the Somme ( ), as you term them, take 3 years to disappear.

The three years estimate for things to be back to normal includes the time from the start of the project to near-invisibility - the 'impressive reinstatements' you mention are after all bare earth at the moment. I have lived beside and worked on major pipeline projects in Aberdenshire, so do have some idea of what I am talking about.

look forward to an island soon which no longer discharges raw sewage from hotel and homes alike directly into the sea

I have never said that I am not in favour of stopping the discharge of raw sewage into the sound - indeed, I am disappointed that this was not done years ago. However, I have never personally come across any raw sewage floating about, so do not expect to notice anything different - only the shellfish growers will, I suspect, as they are actually measuring the water quality. It will make no tangible difference to most of us. In any event, I believe that our society faces more pressing environmental problems than the e-coli level in Seil Sound - you don't, so we will have to agree to differ on that.

I am backing out of this discussion now as I don't like debating with people whose idea of a good argument is shouting the same thing over and over again, and I am not prepared to descend to your level of personal abuse - particularly as I am posting this under my real identity. Expect to see a lot less of me on here from now on - the lunatics are taking over the asylum.

- N

[Mona Lott]

Ah, little flower, don't huff......

One point of fact - various gardens through which the mains pipe passes have already been reinstated very nicely, including laying new lawns and relandscaping. As for your huff'n'puff stuff, I was only responding factually to your accusation that I couldn't be living near the works if I was in favour of them. Facts, Nick, not emotion. And no emotive phrases like "cacophonous nightmare", the "Somme "blighted landscapes" or "shouting the same thing over and over again".

[longshanks]

:this increasinly middle class magazine

Welcome Minkzie.
But, pray, what is wrong with being Middle Class or expressing Middle Class views in a community newsletter? Presumably the editor finds it inappropriate to express Upper Class or Lower Class views for a diverse island and is seeking the Middle ground.

Sir Long de Shanks C.D.M. (Upper Class Twit by choice)

[NickB]

various gardens through which the mains pipe passes have already been reinstated very nicely, including laying new lawns and relandscaping

Yours included no doubt Mona, no wonder you are feeling so happy about the whole thing. If they have been through your garden then perhaps you were one of those dumping their effluent straight into the sound, in which case it would have saved you the considerable cost of a septic tank installation as well . . .

- N

[Mona Lott]

Wrong again, Nick. Give this nasty childishness up please....

[NickB]

.
So your garden has been left unsullied and your existing septic tank is working fine and my surmise was incorrect - hardly 'nasty childishness' Mona, just an attempt to find a rational explanation for your unbounded delight in the whole affair and your utter contempt for those who may not share your unsullied enthusiasm.

Like one or two others on here you seem to fail to grasp the basic concept of debate. You state your position while showering gratuitous insults on any unspecified citizen who you suspect may have a different viewpoint, then when anyone attempts to argue you resort to personal insults.

Pot, kettle . . .

- N

(And that is it for me Mona, feel free to have the last vituperative word why don't you)

[Mona Lott]

Nick, This is quite bizarre! - please note that I hadn't even once posted on this thread when you first brought my name into it in challenging manner. I answered your wrong guesswork/accusation and even waved a white flag! Now I'm accused of delighting in the affair and having utter contempt for debate. Dear me. Methinks you are way over the top, and you should indeed vanish for a while..........I think I might too, just to make sure that you don't lose the plot any further.

[spiderman]

See what you've started, Minkie?! It's been a bit illogical and off-topic, eh?

[Mona Lott]

Just for general info, I now find from today's rather pathetic and fractious experience with Nick that he is using his privileged insider position as website manager to actually change, without record, notification and retrospectively, the actual words that I had previously entered. None of the removed words was of 4 letters. You now know that Seil Chat is an artefact, according to Nick B's increasingly unstable outlook and rants. OK, it's not that important but life's too short for this kind of nonsense. I'm out of it from here on in.................. but in so doing I have to note the contrast between the friendly, straight and well-meaning Seileachan editor, criticism of whom began this thread, and the brittle tricky - and today bitter - editor of this particular web chat site.......Minkie, gimme the Seileachan any day!

[NickB]

.
I took out two words, 'little man', because I considered them unnecessary and insulting . . . to you as much as to me. I thought I was doing you a favour by making you appear less pathetic.

Methinks you are way over the top, little man

was how it originally read.

There is your little insult back in print Mona, happy now are we?

Of course Seil Chat is an artefact Mona, and one that takes up a lot of my (unpaid) time and effort. It's an internet forum and as such is moderated, by me and currently no-one else. Live with it.

I certainly don't see why I have to put up with a stream of insults from you - or indeed anyone else hiding behind an internet pseudonym - so be warned, one more personal comment directed at me and I will delete the user known as Mona Lott. If you don't like it go and post on another forum, set up your own or create a new user with a slightly less poisonous personality.

End of topic.

- N