The Puritanical Scot and the Gambling
I took my eye off the ball for a little while, because I was worrying about the Communist's illness, and they craftily seized the opportunity to swap Prime Ministers, which I think was a bit of a dirty trick and they should have told me.
But- hard though it is to bring myself to say it - I'm warming to Gordon. Having voted for the Supercasino in Manchester when Tony was in power, Gordon's now turned round and said look, I'm in charge now, and you can stuff it.
Which is roughly what I would have said. Not that I'm averse to gambling. I once won £2.25 on an office sweep on the Derby and was very pleased indeed.
Six places were shortlisted as sites for this possible Supercasino, which would have had slot machines with unlimited prizes, and each site spent about £200,000 on their bid (can I just pop in here that this amount would pay for a lot of care assistants on geriatric wards? Not that I've got an axe to grind, or anything). Then they set up a Casino Advisory Panel, at a cost of £400,000 (yes, you can hear what I'm thinking) and they wrote such things as "Manchester" and "Blackpool" on bits of paper, put them in a hat and drew out the one that said "Manchester".
The point of Tony's Supercasino, apparently, was to regenerate the city by creating lots of jobs.
Here are some things to build to regenerate a city (and I could provide a fuller list upon request, oh yes): cinema theatre ice rink roller skating rink art gallery swimming pool squash courts badminton courts tennis courts climbing wall - things that would provide jobs and enjoyable activities for the people who live there.
A Supercasino? In contrast, what a sterile, cynical way of providing jobs. All it would do is give an opportunity for very rich people to squander their money - and, worse, an opportunity for very poor people to squander what money they have in the hope of a big win that would get them out of poverty.
There'll always be casinos, but I don't think the Government should be encouraging them. The Supercasino was just one element of Tony's culture-free vision for Britain, and I'm glad that Gordon's dumped it. Come on Gordon, impress me a bit more now, please.
But- hard though it is to bring myself to say it - I'm warming to Gordon. Having voted for the Supercasino in Manchester when Tony was in power, Gordon's now turned round and said look, I'm in charge now, and you can stuff it.
Which is roughly what I would have said. Not that I'm averse to gambling. I once won £2.25 on an office sweep on the Derby and was very pleased indeed.
Six places were shortlisted as sites for this possible Supercasino, which would have had slot machines with unlimited prizes, and each site spent about £200,000 on their bid (can I just pop in here that this amount would pay for a lot of care assistants on geriatric wards? Not that I've got an axe to grind, or anything). Then they set up a Casino Advisory Panel, at a cost of £400,000 (yes, you can hear what I'm thinking) and they wrote such things as "Manchester" and "Blackpool" on bits of paper, put them in a hat and drew out the one that said "Manchester".
The point of Tony's Supercasino, apparently, was to regenerate the city by creating lots of jobs.
Here are some things to build to regenerate a city (and I could provide a fuller list upon request, oh yes): cinema theatre ice rink roller skating rink art gallery swimming pool squash courts badminton courts tennis courts climbing wall - things that would provide jobs and enjoyable activities for the people who live there.
A Supercasino? In contrast, what a sterile, cynical way of providing jobs. All it would do is give an opportunity for very rich people to squander their money - and, worse, an opportunity for very poor people to squander what money they have in the hope of a big win that would get them out of poverty.
There'll always be casinos, but I don't think the Government should be encouraging them. The Supercasino was just one element of Tony's culture-free vision for Britain, and I'm glad that Gordon's dumped it. Come on Gordon, impress me a bit more now, please.
posted by Daphne at 9:14 am
1 Comments:
It is interesting to see the contrast between the UK and the USA, after returning from a 3 week trip.
In the UK regeneration = casino.
In Portland. OR they were faced with a regeneration problem. A huge industrial site, need regeneration, a huge mess of a place.
The built OMSI. Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. Not the UK stuffy museum, but a magical place for children to play and learn. Everything, film, theatre, science, technology, and culture. Jobs by the bucket load. Lots of geckos, and snakes too.
Oh and the public transport is mostly free, so no congestion.
Post a Comment
<< Home