A Lidl encouragement
May. 7th, 2026 09:48 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
baroque_mongooseAs I have mentioned before, Jankyville has no shops at the moment; and that, quite apart from being highly inconvenient for those of us who have the misfortune to live here, also means that if you're seen carrying bags of groceries about at the moment, everyone knows you've been to the food bank... which is extremely sub-optimal. While I've said many times that there shouldn't be any shame in having to go to the food bank, that is nonetheless what people tend to feel, and we have to allow for that. In fact we had a young man in yesterday who was extremely ashamed, despite the fact that the reason he was there was that his employer had bilked him of half his pay and he was getting some assistance to go to the Small Claims Court to get it back. (He has, I'm happy to say, managed to get a new job with a reputable employer.) Nobody need feel ashamed because someone else has treated them badly; but they do. It's extremely unfair, but it happens, and the last thing you ought to do is tell people they shouldn't be ashamed. Feelings happen, and if you try to tell people they shouldn't have them, then those people just end up feeling inadequate and guilty on top. Don't ask me how I know this.
We are, however, getting a Lidl at some point. I think I've mentioned this before. I didn't know quite where we were with that until yesterday, when I discovered that it's all approved in principle but they need to make some more tweaks to make it more environmentally friendly and consistent with the rest of the town. The first part of that I am, obviously, very much in favour of; the second part... let's just say I have questions. I've also been given to understand that, once the final approval is given, Lidl don't tend to hang around. It should go up pretty quickly.
Of course, the ideal time to build a Lidl here would be about ten years ago; but the next best time is now. There are also, apparently, plans afoot for a number of other facilities that should have been here ten years ago, including a GP surgery (at the moment I have to trog to the nearest village in the scooter, and let's say the route is not ideal). I subscribe to the newsletter of our energetic and hard-working MP, who is, among all the many other things he's doing, ensuring that the development of proper facilities in Jankyville doesn't fall off anyone's agenda, so I'm able to stay up to date on what's happening that way. He's one of the excellent type of Liberal Democrats; in my long experience, I've never met a Liberal Democrat politician who wasn't either very good or very bad. They seem to have nothing in between. He got my tactical vote last time to prevent his terrible predecessor from being re-elected, and I reckon that's the best tactical vote I ever cast.
On which note, it's polling day today (for the local government elections); I have no idea what happened to my polling card this time, but the aforesaid excellent MP has sent out a mass e-mail to everyone on his newsletter list reminding us that we don't need that to vote. All we need is a photo ID. I shall accordingly be popping out after lunch to do my little bit for democracy, freedom, fairness, and the best interests of the entire multicultural local community.
From that, I suspect it's entirely clear who I won't be voting for.
We are, however, getting a Lidl at some point. I think I've mentioned this before. I didn't know quite where we were with that until yesterday, when I discovered that it's all approved in principle but they need to make some more tweaks to make it more environmentally friendly and consistent with the rest of the town. The first part of that I am, obviously, very much in favour of; the second part... let's just say I have questions. I've also been given to understand that, once the final approval is given, Lidl don't tend to hang around. It should go up pretty quickly.
Of course, the ideal time to build a Lidl here would be about ten years ago; but the next best time is now. There are also, apparently, plans afoot for a number of other facilities that should have been here ten years ago, including a GP surgery (at the moment I have to trog to the nearest village in the scooter, and let's say the route is not ideal). I subscribe to the newsletter of our energetic and hard-working MP, who is, among all the many other things he's doing, ensuring that the development of proper facilities in Jankyville doesn't fall off anyone's agenda, so I'm able to stay up to date on what's happening that way. He's one of the excellent type of Liberal Democrats; in my long experience, I've never met a Liberal Democrat politician who wasn't either very good or very bad. They seem to have nothing in between. He got my tactical vote last time to prevent his terrible predecessor from being re-elected, and I reckon that's the best tactical vote I ever cast.
On which note, it's polling day today (for the local government elections); I have no idea what happened to my polling card this time, but the aforesaid excellent MP has sent out a mass e-mail to everyone on his newsletter list reminding us that we don't need that to vote. All we need is a photo ID. I shall accordingly be popping out after lunch to do my little bit for democracy, freedom, fairness, and the best interests of the entire multicultural local community.
From that, I suspect it's entirely clear who I won't be voting for.
