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From: | Penny Willis |
Subject: | [Francine-dev] think tank Milky Way |
Date: | Fri, 8 Sep 2006 17:44:41 +0300 |
Most of the people I talked to had given upthe idea
of ever getting a decent habitation again.
I admit that tillrecently I was in the habit of
doing so myself.
I admit that tillrecently I was in the habit of
doing so myself.
The best intellects will not stand up against it.
Slumclearance means diffusion of the population. But the trouble is that in
destroying theslum you destroy other things as well.
It is the kind ofthing your eye slides over,
registering nothing.
The caravan-colonies in Wigan and Sheffield arenot
like that. Dry rot so bad that one can see through the floor into the roombelow.
They were all out ofwork, and a job and a house seemed to them about equally remote
andimpossible.
It is happening allover England at this moment,
thanks to the Means Test.
One thing thatis very noticeable is that the worst
squalors are never downstairs. One man Iknew, for instance, was seen feeding his
neighbours chickens while theneighbour was away. At times I have seen unmarried men
on the dole living in the extremeof misery. So he spends his days loafing in the
public library or any otherplace where he can keep warm.
However, as I say, I do not pretend to
understandthe mysteries of local government.
When a mans stamps are exhausted,before being
turned over to the P. Landlord now refuses thisand has served orders to
quit.
The caravan-colonies in Wigan and Sheffield arenot
like that.
Even in a town the size ofLiverpool or Manchester
you are struck by the fewness of the beggars. She may keep up her spirits, but she
cannot keep upher standards of cleanliness and tidiness.
Some of the people have been in their caravans for
many years.
Undoubtedly that is the underlyingmotive.
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