Apparently Health & Safety officials in the UK never heard of Oliver Cromwell.

Blind_Io

Blind_Io

"Be The Match" Registered
DONOR
Joined
Apr 5, 2006
Messages
24,228
Location
Utah
Car(s)
See signature
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/6729359/Health-and-safety-Christmas-tree-to-be-replaced.html

A town that put up an bizarre fake Christmas tree that was likened to a giant traffic cone is to replace it with a traditional fir after a campaign by residents.

The climb-down comes after the fake conical tree in Poole, Dorset, was ruined by protestors who tore chunks of astroturf off its framework. The 33ft tall artificial tree, which cost ?14,000, was put up for health and safety reasons amid fears that proper tree might blow over.

More than 4,000 furious residents joined a huge Facebook campaign calling for the artificial tree to be axed, with some threatening to burn it down.

The tree will now be felled and taken away for repairs and replaced by a 30ft tall traditional fir tree, donated by the local shopping centre.
Police are studying CCTV footage to catch the vandals.

Jonathan Sibbett, chairman of Poole town centre management, said: "We are delighted The Dolphin Shopping Centre has been able to step in and ensure Poole shoppers have a Christmas tree in the town centre this year.
"We opted to have an artificial tree this year after feedback from Poole shoppers and residents, this led to the decision to bring in something different this festive season.

"We are very disappointed that the cone tree has been vandalised."
The U-turn will delight the thousands of people who were protesting against the tree online, in groups such as: "We don't care about health and safety, Poole needs a proper Christmas tree."

Members likened the tree to a witch's hat and a traffic cone, and pranksters have designed pictures depicting it as a dunce's hat, with the words "health and safety" across it.

One member of the Facebook group wrote: "What an absolute disgrace the council are for even allowing one of their employees to think this one up.
"'Elf & safety is all well and good but it's gone far too far.

"We need to start reclaiming this country and what it stood for before the bloody do-gooders got hold of it and found danger everywhere they looked."

Another said: "It's ludicrous, cost a flipping fortune and makes the people of Poole look foolish, foolish to have voted in such a prissy and extravagant council.

"There are so many other good causes in Poole that they should have spent the money on instead of this rubbish."

A third remarked: "I just cant believe how bad this is. It's laughable really. How did they think they could get away with a cone with astro turf on it?
"Either have a proper tree or don't have one at all."

It is not known what will happend with the hated fir-cone tree.
Click to expand...
The comment about taking the country back from the do-gooders who find danger everywhere struck a chord with me. We need a bit more of this attitude in the world. Health and
Safety be dammed, it's called life!

EDIT:
Oh, and for those of you who missed the Oliver Cromwell reference in the headline: Oliver Cromwell "was an English military and political leader best known for his involvement in making England into a republican Commonwealth and for his later role as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland." He also banned Christmas and was considered such a bastard that after he died, he was dug up and posthumously executed.
 
Last edited:
Ahh, too bad they already have a replacement, Jayhawk could have made a fortune. :p
 
Bizarre. Both the crappy tree and the thread title.
 
What, you haven't gotten used to my obscure references by now?
 
I like the obscure references, but this one just missed the mark. There was no banning of Christmas involved, just a silly tree. If they decided to not have a tree at all for H&S reasons then the reference would be good.

As an aside, have you seen Cameron's criticism of H&S? As he will almost certainly be PM next year, hopefully H&S will be reigned in.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8388025.stm
 
No, there was no banning of Christmas, but you don't fuck with Christmas traditions in the name of government bureaucracy.
 
Who are these people making these decisions? Everyone refers to them as Health and Safety but that's no good, I can't punch Health and Safety in the face.

As we all know this tree is so safe, why not have the person whose idea this was, sit on the cone. After all it is safe (unlike trees which are made of dangerous nature).
 
Dr_Q said:
Who are these people making these decisions? Everyone refers to them as Health and Safety but that's no good, I can't punch Health and Safety in the face.
Click to expand...

Fucking retards who are incapable of applying common sense when carrying out health and safety risk assessments.

Health and Safety legislation in the UK can pretty much be summed up as "don't do overly risky things'... sadly most people are incapable of accurately assessing the risk so try to shit on everyone else's parade in the name of Health and Safety.
 
My father retired as a Colonel in the US Army. At one of his posts (Lawton, OK, I believe), he was on the command staff and had regular meetings to manage the daily functioning of the post. At one meeting a Major proposed a new regulation prohibiting soldiers from tying their boots together by the laces and throwing them into overhead wires or trees (a celebration and "fuck you" for many soldiers getting out of the Army). The Major said it made the post look bad and he wanted it banned.

The Commanding Officer leaned over the table, took off his glasses and said one of the most accurate, poignant and insightful things I have ever heard:

"Major, you can't legislate common sense."

My dad told me this story when I was a kid and it has always stuck with me. Sometimes you just have to give people the freedom to learn hard lessons the hard way, because you can't legislate something like self-preservation or common sense. You'll go crazy if you try and end up in a fascist environment.
​
 
Oh that Cromwell from The Tudors.
 
Blind_Io said:
EDIT:
Oh, and for those of you who missed the Oliver Cromwell reference in the headline: Oliver Cromwell "was an English military and political leader best known for his involvement in making England into a republican Commonwealth and for his later role as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland." He also banned Christmas and was considered such a bastard that after he died, he was dug up and posthumously executed.
Click to expand...
Ones view of Oliver Cromwell (English Civil War 1642-1651 - 1 & 2) depends upon a number of things - brilliant General, more brilliant organiser and thinker of military tactics. The contriversial act was the battle for Drogheda where a lot of civilians were massacred/killed. What needs to be remembered is that was the rules of war at the time. You turn up outside a castle/defended city and you think I am going to win, the people in side do not surrended because they think they are going to win. You bring up your siege artillery and blow a hole in the wall (two in the case of Drogheda actually) but the English Royalist Commander inside Drogheda decided not to surrender. Now the idea is to stop needless slaughter, so if you then do not surrender every one dies - that was the rule. Would not work otherwise.

This stuff with him being dug up was the restored king being "vengeful".

You may have read the Hawkeye book when a fictionalised version of a true event occurred, the French surrounded a fort and brought up the artillery eventually the walls were breached and the English surrended. They were allowed to leave the Fort colours flying, the French allies (Indians - did not understand or something) and attached the unprotected garrison in the open. This really really upset the British Army of the time and led to the French when they surrendered not being able to keep their colours.

Personally I liked Cromwell but there are many in this country and most particularly Ireland who do not.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Cromwell
 
Last edited:
King James definately didn't like him.
 
Blind_Io said:
My father retired as a Colonel in the US Army. At one of his posts (Lawton, OK, I believe), he was on the command staff and had regular meetings to manage the daily functioning of the post. At one meeting a Major proposed a new regulation prohibiting soldiers from tying their boots together by the laces and throwing them into overhead wires or trees (a celebration and "fuck you" for many soldiers getting out of the Army). The Major said it made the post look bad and he wanted it banned.

The Commanding Officer leaned over the table, took off his glasses and said one of the most accurate, poignant and insightful things I have ever heard:

"Major, you can't legislate common sense."

My dad told me this story when I was a kid and it has always stuck with me. Sometimes you just have to give people the freedom to learn hard lessons the hard way, because you can't legislate something like self-preservation or common sense. You'll go crazy if you try and end up in a fascist environment.
​
Click to expand...

That quote sticks with me as well (though I just heard it :lol:).

I am getting very, very sick of health and safety. When I first started thinking about government, politics, etc it was annoying but not overtly controlling- but now, even without exaggeration, I see fascism in the UK. And not the "creeping, crawling, slippery-slope" kind that many conservatives out here mention either, but a very blatant and real type of extreme social control and lack of privacy, with everything justified by "safety, safety, safety". Hmm, sounds like "For your own good..." to me.

I used to hate when people went on and on about 1984 (the book) with every new law that annoyed them, but now the comparison seems relevant- and the sad thing is, the majority of people complacent with H&S do not actually realise what they could be perpetrating, they actually believe the tripe they've been fed.

I am a social libertarian, and nothing has enforced this view any more than the degeneration of freedom so common here with health and safety. Trash it, and let the idiots who would do any of the things that H&S "helps" with just learn on their own. I refuse to cater to the stupid when my freedom is at risk.
 
Did no one notice the obvious grammatical error in the first sentence? Who is editing this shit?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top