We rural folk often complain that the city oriented people don't really appreciate the drawbacks of country life-its not all a bucolic idyll. Take Telephone Boxes-As BT are. BT have suddenly informed us that as every household has a land line and most (85%plus) at least one mobile phone then there is no point having phoneboxes. They propose therefore to remove many of them including a large number in Berwickshire where apparently they are making no money. A number of uneconomical ones are being retained for 'social' reasons -mostly, it seems, outside pubs. Yes lots of people have mobile phones and in lots of places in the remoter parts of the remote enough Borders there is no signal. The public phonebox at Ellenford is being removed -mobile phones are useless there. Hutton is spared (Paxton, yes outside the pub, is uneconomical but social) I have to say that in 7 years here I have only seen our magnificent phone box being used once but apparently it is not uneconomical-so who uses it I wonder and at what times.? (BT engineers lost and far from home?) But it obviously has a use in a village where the mobile phone signal is in fact ok. Its also a well lit up landmark at night casting light on quite a tricky junction.
Its the facile assumption that irritates us : country people must have mobile phones because townees do, so get rid of the one public facility which some tiny villages possess. And Mr BT it is just not true that everyone can afford to have a land line either. Anyhow we still have time to fight back as it is a 'consultation period' so aggrieved bloggees get on to the phone (if you have one) and let BT have your thoughts. If you can't phone e-mail*
* How? Ed Blog
