Most disturbing, though, is that the fence outside my place only got removed, and the problem dealt with, after a nasty piece of vandalism early Sunday morning. About 12.40 in the morning, someone (perhaps it was a 'tired and emotional' (as a newt) Portsmouth supporter, distressed after losing the FA Cup Final) was roaming down this part of Vincent Street doing random damage (mail box at 96; fence palings removed/damaged further down the street) and seemed to take particular exception to the yellow Telstra fence that has resided outside here for the past 18 months.
When Telstra replaced it last September (after the previous one went walkabout), they strapped it to a timber picket infill piece of the front fence next door (presumably to reduce the risk of its going walkabout again). So - when the yellow fence was levered away from the wall, it actually pulled off the timber infill and one of the pieces of timber broke. This was then used to vandalise my son-in-law's car - smashed windscreen and several large dents above the front door.
I last spoke with Telstra just a few weeks ago and was told that 12-18 months was their expected time to deal with such matters (hey - I'd got to 18 months and nothing yet!) but they would try to put it on the work program for the coming month (no sign yet! - until this morning after vociferous complaints). This is real third-world country stuff - never mind rolling out broadband, how about getting the basics right first!
The point is that not only are the fences a danger to people using the footpath (here, that includes at least two elderly gentlemen who use gophers and cyclists riding fairly fast down the hill, as well as pedestrians including my three young grandchildren) but are an invitation to vandalism.
