Update: Olympic Noise & Dust Meeting

Well - look what the postie brought this morning! A rather chaming letter from the ODA. Now - this - is community relations!!

I have no idea what it says - but I guess I am deep in Olympic doo-doo. Please have a read through it (click on each page to read it witout a magnifying glass!) - and then please see if any of you know anyone who can help me out!

I have no experience with these kinds of legal things, so I first of all need someone to interpret it, and then to tell me how to get out of this mess. Please Leabank Square - between all of the 400 people who live here - someone has got to at least have a friend who could advise me. I am also writing to some people who have helped us deal with the ODA in the past for some help - but surely there has got to be someone here who I can have a cuppa with to explain this wierd language?

VERY IMPORTANT WARNING!!!!

Please only read further after you have made yourself a cup of strong coffee - as many of you never tire of telling me - I do waffle a bit!

Comfortable? Good!

What follows is my reply. I have tried to best reflect all our concerns & views over this amazing story. Please comment as much as you like on my reply - but Leabank Square.......... be nice. I am afraid that we will have to be a bit more strict in what we allow through to the blog - so please........ be nice.

Hi Shabana

It’s me – Sóna from over the canal – in Leabank Square. Thanks for the email – I must admit – I really can’t understand most of what you wrote (English isn’t my mother tongue – tho’ even some of the native East Enders here in Leabank Square didn’t understand either!) – but I think I get the general message.

You’re pissed that we’ve said some things about Giorgia Sharpe. That’s about it – isn’t it?

Now – I’m not too sure how much of the history between Leabank Square & Giorgia Sharpe you’ve been told – but – I’m sure you are aware that there must surely be two sides to every story huh?

Right near the beginning of our beautiful relationship Shabana – a bunch of suits and Giorgia sat in my lounge overlooking the 2012 site – and promised me that I (as Olympic Liaison Person) could say to the rest of the residents of Leabank Square – that you guys would spray all the dust roads with bowsers (a kind of giant towed water butt with holes in) several times a day.

In addition to that – that you guys would spray all your dust mounds with some kind of foam (you’d have to ask your suits what it’s called) that would sort of glue the sand together & prevent it from blowing over our way.

Well…….. – and this is where we got pissed Shabana – we did not see any of this happen! We live here. We see every move you guys make. We (literally) eat your dust! We hear every sound (& wolf whistle) your construction workers make! In short – we know far more about what happens on your construction site – than you ever will comfortably officed in Canary Wharf many kilometres away!

I personally made several phone calls to you guys (unfortunately – for her - it was Giorgia Sharpe who took the calls – if it was anyone else – the same would have been said about them) complaining that we saw absolutely no bowsering, and that we could actually see the dust lifting off the mounds right onto our sausages & corn on the cobs on the barbie! She kept spouting the same tired old regurgitation – the bowsers were definitely in operation directly opposite us – and that the soil was contained in this foam/glue and couldn’t possibly lift off into Leabank Square.

Of course – my duty was to relay this back to the pissed off residents of Leabank Square – and of course some accused her of lying.

Shabana – I’m sure that a (probably) well educated lawyer such as yourself would be able to find an alternative word for something that is not true. But down here in the East End of London – it’s called a lie. The person telling the lie – is called a liar. Simple as!

None of this is in any way personal to Giorgia Sharpe. She was assigned to our case. We had to deal with her. We are not allowed to talk to any of the contractors directly when something kicks off – we have to go through the person assigned to us.

So – Shabana – I have 3 questions for you guys in the Olympics:

1. What are you getting so vexed about – when you are clearly reading our tiny community blog? The blog that these comments were made on is not yours. It belongs to all the residents of Leabank Square. This is how we communicate. This is our virtual community meeting place. This is where we chat to each other. When neighbours chat to each other – they sometimes call other people liars. This is the East End of London. This is what happens here. We use our blog to try and change things that piss us off. One of the things that pissed some residents off was being told that you guys were bowsering and foaming – and that meant that we would not get any dust on our sausages. Your dust even gets into our kitchens!!! When people get pissed – they say things. They get emotional. They probably go over the top. But that’s life innit? What are you doing listening in on Leabank Square’s chats – you do not live here!!!!!

2. The land you are building on opposite Leabank Square is called Arena Fields. This used to belong to us. This was Lammas Land given ‘in perpetuity’ (look it up – cos I don’t actually know all the legal ins & outs of the phrase – but it sort of means – forever) to the people of London to use to walk their dogs, play footie, have a picnic, chat someone up, just chill – on. We used to do all that & a lot more. Then – an Act of Parliament took it away to give to you lot. Now we have the most unimaginable noise, dust & irritation. I know you won’t appreciate it from Canary Wharf – but what we have gone through in a couple of years has been sheer hell. Can you honestly (hey – Shabana – before you get all trigger-happy – I’m not accusing you of lying now) – honestly – say that you might not get a tiny bit het-up? You should be paying for us to get out of this hell with regular trips to Southend – never mind stressing us even more with threats of some legal stuff we don’t even understand!

3. The last thing I really don’t understand is why I personally get the heavies coming after me? Remember when you guys sent Sergeant Port to come & chat about some similar ‘emotional’ comments last year? I don’t actually write the comments Shabana. This blog thing is brilliant. I simply write a story that I know Leabank Square is chatting about - I am the gardener – I get to hear all the stories. Everyone else then comment things like wishing Lucy good luck with the Hackney in Bloom judges, moaning about the dog owners not cleaning up after their dogs (if Giorgia was upset about being called a liar – she should have read what neighbours said about each other!), and – of course comment about what hell you guys are putting us through! There is a long history of calling Giorgia Sharpe a liar on the blog if you really want to trawl through years worth of comments. Of course – you’re probably going to say that I am responsible – because I started the blog. But – in a sense – I drew the short straw. I was asked to set it up in order to have a tool to have meetings in Leabank Square – without actually having physical meetings. In meetings – things get ‘emotional’. I have to reflect this by allowing some flavour of what is getting said – otherwise it would be like shutting someone at a meeting up. I’m sort of like a chair at a virtual residential meeting. So – if that makes me personally responsible – do what you gotta do Shabana.


As you will now see – I have taken the offensive comments down – but don’t be getting all triumphant just yet. I am playing for some time to get Leabank Square & some of our friends to get me some legal advice. As a gardener – I am completely out of my depth here – so please bare with me while I ask around. I will get back to you when I know just how much crap I’m in.

Peace
Sóna


PS – Shabana – one other thing – pleeeeezzzzz reply in understandable English – I hardly know what you are on about in your previous letter. Please.

Oh yes...... While I have all your rapt attention - I told you to make that coffee STRONG! - quite a few of these kinds of offers have come in from a couple of TV stations - but LOADS of newspapers. Please get in touch through the email system if you are keen to get your beautiful mugs in the news.