Save the Libraries – Kennington (Part 2 of 2)

Update on the Pied Piper March in support of the Kennington Library (see Save the Libraries – Kennington (Part 1 of 2))

I received a lovely letter from the organiser, Paddy Landau, as well as a CD of photos from the day. The event was a huge success! Councillor Keith Mitchell turned up to the tea party with the children and heard Korky Paul and I reading to the children of St Swithun’s Primary School. he then received baskets of petitions and posters from the children. In his address Keith outlined a number of options open to the council to make the savings required of them by the Coalition Govt.

The Pied Piper March was covered by local news, radio and TV. And here’s the GOOD NEWS! It seems to have worked – the plans to cut 20 of 43 libraries will be entirely rethought.

County tears up library closure plan

Funnily enough, Councillor Mitchell didn’t mention cutting salaries of highly paid council executives…of which I should stress that Councillor Mitchell is not one – he is an elected official. But there are people in Oxfordshire County Council who are paid top salaries to plan, for example, exciting new road schemes. Not to implement those plans – that would be people far down on the ladder.

Call me old-fashioned but I think that when your household runs out of cash you stop paying the architect to dream up that enormous extension and concentrate ONLY on repairs until there is money in the bank again…

That’s my tip for saving the libraries, anyway. Cut some salaries – just a bit! However, I suspect the extra revenue might be raised bythe return of Sunday and 24-hour parking charges, and the resumption of the speed cameras…