Very interesting experiment, I guess you don't realise how much the council does for you and the community until it's taken away. I got pissed off when someone nicked our food scrap bin, and I had to ring the council for a replacement, never mind having the rubbish removal taken away. I wonder if the people on the street all made up in the end, especially the guy that said something about the single mother. I think she was asking only for what she thought she rightly should have but he thought she should put the street first.
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Sorry, Poolie - I haven't been able to watch it, although I intended to.
I heard Nick Robinson talking about it on Week Ending on Radio 4 last Saturday. It sounded very interesting. If it's any consolation I think he suggested that most of the strained relationships were eventually resolved.
I watched glimpses of it, watched it mainly because I stay in preston over the week days... gave me a right chuckle that one woman who wanted money to send her kids to the afterschool club.
They all basically said get stuffed, its her fault she has so many kids
If anyone missed it and wants to watch it, they can see it on bbc iplayer on the link underneath.
I'll catch up with it at some point. It sounds like a "Tragedy of the commons" type experiment.
I've just watched it on catch up and i thought it was really good, it did make you realise what you get for your money, when the street lights went off and they had too sort out and pay for the rubbish too be taken away and that they couldn't use the parks etc
A bit of an eye opener for me! I'm the first one to have a moan ~ specially when I hit one of the many potholes around here, but this makes you think again about the difficult decisions our local councils have to make. Mind you, they still make some REALLY bad decisions so looks like I'll still enjoy the odd moan or two.
I think the thing for me was all the things you don't think about that the council does do for you and you don't give a second thought about, it did make me laugh, when they took their recycling to the bottle banks and then had it all returned to them as the council owned the bottle banks 
and what about them girls that were hoarding their rubbish on the sofa 
Originally Posted by Aimee:
what about them girls that were hoarding their rubbish on the sofa
Indeed.
At least tuck it down the side of the cushions, like my kids do! 
I find Nick Robinson unwatchable. Bloody Tory lackey! 
I watched ,it was marvellous.
When they thought dealing with fly tipping and Graffitti was bad,the sh*t hit the fan when they had to make "cuts" ,decide if an elderly disabled man kept his care package /single parent kept her Housing Benefit and after school care programme.
I have never seen so many adults almost delirious with delight when their wheelie bins returned,street lights turned on, and the council took back control.
I did laugh when one man went to his local baths,but it was council controlled,so no entry.He just decided he would go for a walk in the local park,but council controlled, no entry.He walked the streets.
Yup, tried entering avenham park Surprised he wouldn't know that was council controlled already...
Originally Posted by Aimee:
it did make me laugh, when they took their recycling to the bottle banks and then had it all returned to them as the council owned the bottle banks
I have to say that this reminded me of that old Rice Krispies ad:
If they didn't think the bottle banks (and parks, and swimming baths, etc) were run by the council, who did they think ran them? 
