'The the bitter irony of Sheffield fighting to be City of Culture while letting gallery close'
The bitter irony of Sheffield fighting to be City of Culture in front of the cameras, while letting one of its key cultural venues close away from the spotlight, is not missed
If you want a job doing right, do it yourself.
Now I'm sure if you happen to sit on the top tier of a local authority you are never going to pick up a hammer and start fixing things. You might be questioning how that would save money when there are some absolutely whopping huge local authority top tier salaries, but there are several stories this week that make me think that money isn't being funneled in the right direction.
Central Library! I've told everyone in the office not to get me started on that topic - but nobody in any position of authority seems to care.
We taxpayers have spent tens of thousands of pounds on workmen visiting the site. In fact, they've been 500 times in just three years. Have we paid them to do an awful job, so they need to return - and be paid again?
To rub salt into the wound, not one of the 500 visits managed to do anything that could have kept the wonderful Graves Gallery open.
Who oversees this work? What has it achieved and, when the work was so regular, was there genuinely not a more permanent solution?
Time is ticking ... Graves will close at the end of this week and Sheffielders have no confidence that we will see it reopen soon or at all.
We have been promised an alternative venue, but we still don't know where that will be, if anywhere.
Fear not, the bitter irony of Sheffield fighting to be City of Culture in front of the cameras, while letting one of its key cultural venues close away from the spotlight, is not missed.
Perhaps it is just too painful for most people to say out loud.
Give the brilliant city of sport an athletics stadium, let the incredible city of culture keep its gallery, make sure the city that leads the way in healthcare allows cancer transport charities to use bus lanes.
Is that too much to ask?
An elderly relative has builders in this week. They are redecorating what she describes as a very grotty corner of her home and, crucially, replacing wood that is far past its best.
Not a job that will transform anything and not cheap but, she tells me without any doubt, there is nothing worse than not doing simple work that stops big problems further down the line.
I wish Sheffield City Council had such clarity in its thinking or foresight.
Spending a little over the years, could have left us in a very different place for so many gorgeous Sheffield buildings.
Did Central Library have to be allowed to crumble? Did the running track have to become unsafe? How bad with the Town Hall get before it is declared a disaster?
I fear today's road repairs give us another valuable lesson in how not to stay on top of things. If potholes aren't fixed properly and roads aren't resurfaced to a good standard ... guess what happens? That's exactly where we are - trapped by roads that are crippled with repairs that should never have been necessary.
We travelled with dizzying speed from pothole city to smooth roads and then back again.
I've got another issue that has been driving me crazy. Why does it cost so much more to build a council house than a private home?
Some of the figures that we have seen recently are eye-watering. If I was moving into a newly built place - knowing how much had been spent on it - I would expect gold bath taps at the very least.
I absolutely believe that council houses are important and we need more. But I hate that it always feels that we get ripped off by everyone involved. Oh, the council is picking up the bill ...let's double the price and work at half the speed. Except that's our money that is being burnt through and it really does matter.
Tell me if I'm wrong but surely it doesn't have to be this way?
There are some top notch business people in this city and lots of sharp academic minds. Yet, the simplest of issues never seem to be tackled.
In a country that seems to be divided by extreme opinions and protests that promote little that is positive, where are the placards demanding our infrastructure is protected?
"Do the job properly, do it when it is first needed and don't get ripped off" ... not much of a chant but I do wish it was a message that the Town Hall could hear ringing through the building.