How can you or I make a real difference these days?
With less than half of the electorate turning out to the last by-election, the ballot box might not always be the right answer, writes Patrick Astill.
What really grabs attention seems to be the ubiquitous Facebook “fan” group, or a page online declaring support for your cause or a request to the authorities.
There’s also somewhere on the internet where you can start a petition to state your case directly to the Government, although for some that’s rather too formal.
Online campaigns make it very easy for people to show their support. They can attract passers-by or “box-tickers” who want to make a public statement, but would rather not be too directly associated with a cause.
One website, for example, gopetition.com, regularly achieves success. A Save Our Museums at Stamford and Grantham Petition won support from 346 people, all of whom signed online.
The recent surge of the message-sending system Twitter has also changed the way people think and act, by encouraging the authorities to bow to pressure.
Some causes become popular because of a bandwagon effect.
But making a big difference to a wider-ranging issue such as fuel prices or the new VAT rate is a tougher nut to crack. The rolling road blocks by hauliers in 2000 made precious little difference to the price at the pumps, which has since soared from 77p then to £1.29 now – more than a fiver a gallon.
So when do the great British public get listened to?
I know people who have nominated a relative for new year honour from the Queen. And it worked. Someone in that department takes notice.
And those who wish to make a real difference closer to home can volunteer. Yes, it involves time and energy, but it’s the opportunity to make a real difference – sometimes much more than through the ballot box or writing to the council to complain.
Become a trustee of a museum and shape its future. Be a school governor and appoint the teachers you want to give local children the very best start. Or join the board of your local hospice to help make the lives of the sick much better. It’s “big society”, but it can give you a big say.
First published in the Lincolnshire Echo.
Tuesday, February 15
Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis, Nottingham Playhouse
By Patrick Astill
"Famous Grouse? What did he do?"
The triumphant reprise of Punt and Dennis's World of Wine sketch from the 90s provided a perfect end to the evening, if a little untypical compared with what went before.
Steve Punt and "TV's Hugh Dennis" were at the Playhouse and back in Nottingham for the first time in four years.
This show packed them in for an absolute sell-out. And it was clear to see why.
Intelligent (if sometimes obvious) humour, running gags, a nod to their past and cultural and political observations ran through from start to finish.
They even suggested they might be still relevant in this day and age because the country was run by a double act.
Their set was based on the nuances of consumer surveys, the pair returning to the theme every now and again by gauging opinions from the audience or using the crowd to reinforce their point.
A request for us all to laugh like pirates got the desired response, and the pair tell us we've not been reading the papers or we'd know that most pirates were now Somali.
We're low on fuel and a sign tells us there's petrol at one mile and 23 miles… which do we go for? You get the picture.
A knock at Newark, a nod to the rivalry with Derby, both socially and with the football, helped settle the duo into an evening in Nottingham.
Formerly of The Mary Whitehouse Experience and well known for radio's Now Show, the pair work off each other brilliantly.
Steve's constant chatter, building the argument and setting the scene to ease in Hugh's knockabout and less than subtle antics. And yet when the roles were reversed their comedy achieved the same result.
Dog and Trumpet? Make sure you catch them soon – it'll all make sense.
"Famous Grouse? What did he do?"
The triumphant reprise of Punt and Dennis's World of Wine sketch from the 90s provided a perfect end to the evening, if a little untypical compared with what went before.
Steve Punt and "TV's Hugh Dennis" were at the Playhouse and back in Nottingham for the first time in four years.
This show packed them in for an absolute sell-out. And it was clear to see why.
Intelligent (if sometimes obvious) humour, running gags, a nod to their past and cultural and political observations ran through from start to finish.
They even suggested they might be still relevant in this day and age because the country was run by a double act.
Their set was based on the nuances of consumer surveys, the pair returning to the theme every now and again by gauging opinions from the audience or using the crowd to reinforce their point.
A request for us all to laugh like pirates got the desired response, and the pair tell us we've not been reading the papers or we'd know that most pirates were now Somali.
We're low on fuel and a sign tells us there's petrol at one mile and 23 miles… which do we go for? You get the picture.
A knock at Newark, a nod to the rivalry with Derby, both socially and with the football, helped settle the duo into an evening in Nottingham.
Formerly of The Mary Whitehouse Experience and well known for radio's Now Show, the pair work off each other brilliantly.
Steve's constant chatter, building the argument and setting the scene to ease in Hugh's knockabout and less than subtle antics. And yet when the roles were reversed their comedy achieved the same result.
Dog and Trumpet? Make sure you catch them soon – it'll all make sense.
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