Half Term Art Workshops , Tue 31st, Wed 1st June 10 am -4 pm, Goose Green

I suppose all these issues that need addressing are a reflection of the times we live in. Important and necessary but somehow destroy the underlying spirit.

Do you know who organised and ran it? Because it must have been quite a lot of work. Who kept track of the credits? What safeguards were they? Was there a lower age limit eg over 18? Was insurance needed? ID? Who checked it? What was the situation if somebody was injured while working in your house or garden? What if someone broke or stole something? What if someone in your house was molested or attacked? What if you weren't happy with the standard of work? Sorry to be gloomy, but whilst this sounds a great idea in theory, in common with many people I know I've had several  bad experiences with supposedly professional tradespeople, let alone someone who wasn't doing it for a living.

I think the Brixton Pound lives on, so there must be some kind of appetite for it, but I'm afraid I doubt it would be very useful for me.

My primary issue is the noise level and the fact that it begins at dusk and continues well into the early hours, the odd random bang being possibly the worst aspect as you never know when the next volley will occur. This is no longer about celebrating a turning point as the clock strikes 12am, but more a lengthy indulgence in ear shattering bangs, where there also seems to be competition as to who can create the loudest most startling barrage of sustained noise. A new thing is daytime fireworks, where buyers are urged to forget the visual aspect and focus on getting the biggest bang for their buck. I am lucky as I am not super sensitive to noise but I really feel for those who are. As for pets, I am afraid there are now many that require serious medication to get them through- and those meds are not cheap. The fault here is not with the animals or people sensitive to extreme bangs, but with those who insist on their right to impose it on all around them, not just for half an hour a few times a year, but for hours on customary dates and now  spreading to random events throughout the year.I  New Year fireworks is a very recent construct, and now Halloween Fireworks are becoming a thing. Why should we encourage and condone a proliferating societal noise addiction? It really is isn't healthy. Let those who wish to damage their eardrums enjoy their pastime through headphones; they can turn the volume up as high as they like.  If last night was the end of it then that is great but I think there'll be more through the weekend and more discarded jumbo firework boxes dumped in the park. I hope we follow other countries in adopting low noise fireworks and drone shows instead.