*Slaps Forehead on Behalf of Home Town

I make no secret (well, online anyway) of my roots, in that I am from the chavtatstic set of towns collectively known as Medway.


Now, Medway, I do miss it- honestly. Yes, it was dirty, run down, with not the greatest schools/facilities/homes going, and with a particularly crap Football team (the Gills) but for 25 years, it was home. Mini was born there too (although, again we don't make this common knowledge very often. And she was a mere 5 months old when we moved). I met Elder there. There were some good times had there, and a few of my mates still live there and the surrounding towns.



Anyway, via the power of the 'net, its pretty easy to keep up to speed with what's going on in my old homestead, and I have a saved search on Twitter for Medway mentions.


It's usually a good way of keeping up with the aforementioned fortunes of the Gills, its always handy to see names crop up who I went to school with (and not necessarily always in the crime round up of the Messenger newspaper Twitter feed), and just to generally get a bit nostalgic.


Today, a link popped up on Twitter which sounded baffling- that the council had dropped an "E" on Medway. That kind of headline, especially coming from the Daily Mail had to be looked at more closely.


It would seem the council, who have been the subject of some harsh budget cuts, have decided that, rather than spend any spare cash they found wisely, they would build this:

Yes. Its a Hollywood style sign, right on the fields that were right near my old house, up on the Great Lines. Its costing £12,000 to put up/build.


Why? 


Well, that was the first thought that sprung to mind on picking myself up from the floor where I'd fallen about laughing on first seeing the picture (which is an artist's impression). Reading on through the article, apparently its because not many people outside Medway know that collectively Gillingham, Chatham, Rainham, Rochester and Strood all make up Medway, its not just one giant town, folks.


Why on earth anyone thought this is the solution? 


In the last few weeks they had a trial run by erecting one of the letters to see what it looks like. They could have gone for the M, or any other letter. But no, they chose to erect a giant E, on a field, in a town that a lot of people consider full of druggies. A field where a lot of drug deals go on, skate boarders hang out (and which will immediately, if the whole thing gets plonked there, be a taggers paradise).


I can't believe they paid £2000 for a giant E. 


Did I mention I'm not really from there at all......