They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
With a pink hotel, a boutique
And a swinging hot spot
Dont it always seem to go
That you dont know what youve got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
They took all the trees
Put em in a tree museum
And they charged the people
A dollar and a half just to see em
Dont it always seem to go
That you dont know what youve got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
Hey farmer farmer
Put away that d.d.t. now
Give me spots on my apples
But leave me the birds and the bees
Please!
Dont it always seem to go
That you dont know what youve got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
Late last nightI heard the screen door slam
And a big yellow taxi
Took away my old man
Dont it always seem to go
That you dont know what youve got
Till its gone
They paved paradise
And put up a parking lot
Thank you to Joni Mitchell
29 comments:
Hi Sóna
I wonder if our esteemed MP Meg Hillier was across the canal with Gordon Brown yesterday?
I completely missed out on the cabinet re-shuffle before the recess - is she still a junior minister?
I bloody hope not - cos then she can start repping us we elected het to do!!
But if she is - and was over the canal yesterday - I hope she saw just what Joni wrote about! I am begining to struggle to remember Arena Fields like your pic Sóna - so please keep posting pics of it up here and the other blogs - we must never be allowed to forget what life was like before the ODA stole it from us!
Matt
Hi Matt - I agree - we need to keep the spirit of Arena Fields alive & kicking. We must also make sure that when the electric fence eventually comes down - that the space presently occupied by the Arena Fields welfare centre - is returned to green space for us (& my old Gainsborough School) to use and have picnics upon!!
Su
Perfect words for the pictures. Same is happening over at Hackney Marshes. Why do they even need parking lots? Even in Legacy mode, the LDA should be encouraging any future tenants to be using public transport instead of bring their cars into the Wick. I can't stand seeing all the greenery dissapearing over the canal, and being replaced by more and more concrete man.
Pete
The thing that I find funny about all the Car parking they're doing is that the feeble roads around here can't even handle normal day to day traffic with jams & queues. I really don't know how the heck this little area is supposed to handle all the predicted traffic of 2012?! They have obviously not though that bit out.......
Oh and a little snippet from a red top yesterday, from Dizzee Rascal:Dizzee Rascal has apparently criticised the 2012 Olympics for turning east London into a 'hole'.
The Holiday singer, who grew up in Bow, said whenever he goes back to the area he gets angry at the state of the place, the Sun reports.
"The whole area is just a big building hole," he said
I'm with Zoulla.
Our tiny little roads can't cope with all the traffic as it is. What's it going to be like when all the workers drive in to their car parks before, during and in the Legacy period?!
GRIDLOCK!!
Every time i cycle over the A12 bridge from Victoria Park, it's already at a standstill. With a couple of thousand extra cars coming into Hackney Wick, it's going to be laughable!
Gail
Hi Shona
Nice words, its amazing just how universal they are. They've applied to many instances over the years, on all continents, and with just about any construction project - BUT very specifically to the London 2012 Olympic games! Thanks for the reminder.
Greg
Hi Sóna
It seems as though every day there is a new layer of concrete paving over Arena Fields!
Is the ODA's plan to obliterate every single blade of grass?
Has the Partnership had a chance to meet the new Baroness yet? If so - what did she say about the legacy's hard landscaping?
This has got to be the only hope the Wick has - to start planting as many already mature trees as possible NOW!!
Paul
Hi Sóna
We just got this press release bragging about how they've cleaned up the entire site!
What a crock of doo-doo!
What they failed to mention was that they also 'cleaned up' all our trees as well. Hundreds of trees chopped down to make way for that monstrocity of a building going up in front of us!
Maybe WE should send out a contra press release talking about the distruction they have wreaked on all the local wildlife by destroying their natual habitats?!
Where are all the trees they have been promising? There's only a couple of years left before their glorious opening ceremony, and what birds, bats & insects are any visitors going to see?
They need to start planting NOW in order for the birds to start nesting, bats to start roosting and bees to start hiving!!
Mr Blue
Sóna - whta the hell happened this morning?! Why was it all so loud? And why was it so loud at 7am?! Where the hell is Hackney Council in this war?! Have they just abandoned us to the whims and fancies of the ODA?! GET ON TO THIS Sóna!!! I cannot take much more of this, and a court of law will side with me if my actions resulting from any breakdown lead to public disorder!!!
Mike
Mike I was woken up by it as well!!! A bloody great big noise! What has changed? Has Hackney given another bloody section whatever again? This is unnaceptable man! Just because they have built a road in fornt of us doesn't mean they can drive HGV along it befoe 8! They have to stick to the agreements! What has Kavuma done this time - AND WHERE IS THE BLOODY COUNCIL NOISE MONITOR??
Greg
Thanks for the text Greg. Yeah it was the same for me. As I was leaving I definetly noticed a much louder comotion than usual. This has got to be stomped on before it gets worse. Either that or we get them human rights lawyers Shona is chatting with to tackle this as well. Hit them with some of their own medicine!!
Sooz
Oh Come on Sóna - sort this bunch of (lawyers probably reading this) out!!!
Why are they making this awful racket so early in the morning? Have we gone back to the soil washing days again?! Those drillers or whatever they are on the massive building were at it way befroe 8 and making a massive noise, along with some trucks on the new road. Get them to stick to the arrangement.
Su
Sorry about the shout Sona, but this bunch of losers have just got my goat this morning! I didn't mean to take it out on you. And I still don't care for that meeting the other lot are going to set up. They are just going to give us the same tired old story. Please see that this morning does not happen again or a few of us are going to have to reort to some very unpleasant tactics (don't worry we wont involve you this time) meaning Leabank Square will be very much in the news again!!
Ms Scarlet
Sna
What was this morning all about? Are they now deliberatly driving us mad with noise earlier and earlier? What a bunch of prats! Just cos we speak our minds that go all Stalin on us. And as for Hackney Council? What are we paying our council tax for? have they completely handed us over the the new Gulag of ODA to 'administer' on their behalf? Maybe all these dictaors need a few freedom fighters to see them straight?
Tony
I'm so glad I wasn't imagining it this morning! I thought I was going loopy until I hunted you lot down. Sóna, maybe it's worth starting a new thread about the ODA proper. Just so that we can all know where to look if we want to chat about the noise and dust. Also, baring in mind last weeks meeting, we know know that they are definelty reading this - Hi georgia!! How you doing? Feeling better? - so we don't actually need to send emails to them as we discussed. They can simply read the latest thread in their name, and act on it there & then. What do you think Georgia? Good idea or not? Actually - what I meant to ask at the meeting - was - have the ODA ever actually used the comment facility before? Hey Georgia - have you ever commented on anything on our blog before? Or do you just sit there and eavesdrop? Come on ..... please tell us. I'm sure we would all like to know.
Anyway georgia, please sort that noise out, and make sure it doesn't happen before 8 again okay?
Claire
Grrrls say YES to boys who say NO to the Olympics!
Thanks for the email. Who is this Tracie person? When did she suddenly come into the picture? There has never been a Tracie in the group, unless its the new residents in the corner flat - sorry.
Tracie hi, a couple of years ago we had to set up a forum to discuss the huge amount of noise and dust emminating from the Olympic site. In particular from a soil washing factory that was set up opposite us. We chose Sóna to represent us as he had some campaigning background. As no one else wanted to take it on he reluctantly stepped up. I'll drop the relevant secure email adress through your door later this evening. We have to chat this way as the ODA are very scared of any criticism, and want to gather as much info on us without actually talking face to face. Tracie, you may want to join our group as you will soon bear the horrible brunt of all the noise, disrution and fierce amount of dust coming over from the Olympic site. By joining this group, you will be able to rely on us to represent you in our battle with these very tricky people. Of course you may just want to ignore what is going on, and thats entirely up to you. Some of us are shift workers and as such need our sleep as and when we can get it. This means we have to use one person to collect all the complaints in one place and then act on them. I have been a bit critical of him of late as I felt a few complaints have slipped through the net, but he has been told off sufficiently. The other bunch of people who have let us down dispicably are the local council, who we are in the process of being reported to the Local Government Ombudsman for their absolute lack of support in this battle. Tracie, as I said, this may or may not all be for you, but we have had a few successes, and that's only because we act together through one single rep.
Welcome
Debs
Hi Sóna
Thanks for the emails. Where do this Julie and Tracie get off telling us to change our system? It is no different to their own system. They have one number to collate and record ALL complaints to their off. Well, we have the same. We have elected you to collect and record all our emails & calls to you so that we can ALL see how the ODA are affecting us as residents.
So who are they to want to change our system?! Should we ask them to set up 111 seperate phone lines just to deal with each residence in Leabank Square?
Tell these Julies and Tracies where to get off! We set this all up in order for us to make our council, councillors, MPs, Mayors, pressure groups, etc aware of the scale of the problem the ODA is causing Leabank Square. If we had to rely on this bunch of Julies & Tracies to sort it all out on our behalf, we would still have a massive soil washing plant churning out fumes, dust and mega-decibles directly into our windows!
Adele
Umm Adele
I think the Tracie in the emails is that posh woman in one of the houses. She has something to do with the management company or something. But Julie King is the one from the ODA. She's the one who took over from Giorgia Sharpe after the legal stuff.
Shona seems to think she's okay. Either way she needs to deal with the noise. She seems to be fobbing him off with the email, so we might have to get the other plans on the table for the next meet.
And that Kavuma guy seems to think that the ODA are being honest with their data. I thought the whole point of the council doing their own readings was to check that the ODA were being honest. Now he seems to be relying on their data, when we all know it bears no relation to what we are hearing through our windows?!
We need to discuss these emails in a lot more detail, but for now, I am not a happy bunny!
Matt
Shona that noise this morning was just too much. Please God they are not as loud tomorrow.
Filice
Bit Better, but still continue the discussion on secure coms.
Hey Sona
Thanks for the update. Is that the woman who chairs the other TRA? I thought she was on our side?
I am so dissapointed in Hackney Councils response, and we must now continue with the LGO.
Has anyone from the ODA ever bothered to reply to your enquiry about what constitutes 'emergency work'? Once we have their definition, we can then proceed with the objections. We have been collecting the non consultation statements for over a year now so we have every reason to win.
Please keep me completely updated so that we are all reading the same paragragh.
Mr Black
Hi Sóna
I got the copies thanks! It looks as if HC has handed over monitoring to the ODA completely now. I'm amazed that they are using the data that the ODA is supplying in order to police them with. Something smells very stinky about this.
I'll check in the dept upstairs to see if there is anything fishy going on.
As for the sep mon, I'm afraid Portsmouth have run out of funds for this year, so I'll try the ones on the waiting list. I'll speak to you next week about this.
M
Sóna - we need to get some common ground with these jerks. Our problem has always been that we can't all make a meeting.
Can the ODA somehow start using this blog - not just to spy on us - but also to start putting their side of the debate over?
They know that we HAVE to use it to chat to each other - so why can't THEY start using it to ALSO chat to us?
Why does it always have to be done THEIR way? If they really are so good a relating to the community - how come they have never ever related positively to our main source of communication?
Dirk
Everyone, we can carry on discussing whoever we want on the secure coms. Please email for the new password first.
Sóna
What did the arrogant bleeps think they could do all that work opposite us this morning!?!
It's a Sunday, and they blatantly were digging, bashing, smashing, driving, dropping, reversing all over our peace?
And what is up with the 'hotline'?!? That was a full hours delay!
Please give that King person a call tomorrow to see what happened will you?
Annie
Mr Blue's idea of issuing Leabank Square's own press releases to a media list sounds rather a good idea.
Owen
Please find out about those works going on during the breakfast meeting yesterday Sóna.
And contact HC to report it and get them to promise to raise it at the next meeting.
Jack
Sóna have you EVER heard back from Meg Hillier on any Leabank Square related matters? I know she has answered some of the Oxfam stuff, but has she EVER commented on any Leabank Square issues?
Su
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