On 10 Nov 2011 at 4:56pm Pointless wrote:
We had a banger set-off in our letterbox on Tuesday evening. It shattered the letterbox itself (which exploded all over the yard) and scorched the door and blew off bits of trim from the door. Quite apart from the danger of the explosion itself and fire risk it means the entire door now has to be replaced at great cost. Our letterbox is at the back of a building on Priory Street (accessed from Eastport Lane.
Did anybody see/know anything?
On 10 Nov 2011 at 4:58pm Pointless wrote:
I'm told the 'banger' was a rookie.
On 10 Nov 2011 at 5:38pm Anna Roberts wrote:
Hi, glad you are alright. It's Anna from the Argus. If you want to do a story on this please feel free to email me on anna.roberts@theargus.co.uk
Ta, Anna
On 10 Nov 2011 at 6:25pm Ed Can Do wrote:
Hi Anna from the Argus. Are you the same Anna Roberts whose first trip to Lewes on Bonfire Night was marred by you receiving a small bruise through your jeans and your friend getting hit in the face by shrapnel? Did you have any editorial input into the awful, sensationalist headlines proclaiming 170 HURT AT LEWES BONFIRE then going on to state how a banger thrown into the crowd somehow managed to bounce back and hit her in the eye? Was it also your decision to focus on the number of reported incidents rather than on the fact that such a number actually represents a monumentally small amount of trouble for so many people being in town? Did you not think the quotes from the police about how well the event had run might have deserved a bit more prominence than the small number of minor injuries? Maybe you could have tempered the dramatic casualty figures by comparing them to events of similar size like Brighton Pride or a music festival, pointing out in the process how safe Lewes Bonfire actually is?
I know newspapers are in the business of selling copies rather than providing useful information these days but this kind of sensationalism is incredibly damaging to the image of Bonfire. I think you should be brave and attend Bonfire again next year, maybe dragging your photographer more than twenty yards away from the Elly in the process. It's a great pub but there's other stuff going on arond town he might have liked a picture of. Maybe you should join a society yourself then you can report on how important safety is to society members and how much better the event is when you get involved yourself rather than spectating and realise why people who are in societies try to discourage spectators?
Sorry to hijack your thread, Pointless, but the Argus's coverage of Bonfire made me pretty angry this year.
On 10 Nov 2011 at 6:49pm This isn't quite right wrote:
You allegedly have a rookie put though your door, causing extensive damage and you are asking for help on a local forum?
What's wrong with the Police, who if this is real, would have taken the matter extremely seriously?
I smell more anti-bonfire bulls**t
On 10 Nov 2011 at 6:55pm IMEYOU wrote:
"Pointless" Why has it taken nearly 48 hours for you to post your post ?
On 10 Nov 2011 at 6:55pm Silly Billy wrote:
At first I misread the the message as" Badger in our letterbox on Tues night".Maybe I need glasses.
On 10 Nov 2011 at 7:10pm FEN wrote:
Anna Roberts in a society? You've got be joking. The only time The Argus steps outside the boundaries of Brighton and Hove is if there's bad news or muck to rake and she obviously came to town already searching for the negative as she is doing here. How she must have danced with glee (if she could) when a bruised leg gave her yet another negative angle. Ever seen her asking to be contacted when there's a bit of good news from Lewes on the Forum?
On 10 Nov 2011 at 7:13pm Decent Citizen wrote:
Perhaps Pointless left Lewes for Bonfire,or,came back to find damage, or,a neighbour informed them? Either way,an extremely dangerous,stupid thing to do. You have my sympathy. There was I thinking(hoping)the moron element left us on Saturday night!!
On 10 Nov 2011 at 7:18pm This isn't quite right wrote:
They were away? How did they know it was a banger, or then a rookie then? how did they know it was Tuesday if they left for bonfire (which, in case you missed it, was on Saturday).
On another matter - those that can - do, those that can't - teach, those that really can't tend to write for the local press. But in Anna's defence, at least she doesn't write for Viva DFL.
On 10 Nov 2011 at 7:21pm Decent Citizen wrote:
We no more need the likes of Anna Roberts stirring up trouble, than we need the widespread advertisements of "Come to Lewes For Bonfire". Anna,you get the idea?
On 10 Nov 2011 at 7:29pm Decent Citizen wrote:
It is THURSDAY today, so I am assuming they discovered it two days ago!! As I said,a neighbour saw it,told them? See? One does not have to be a detective,just to think things through before making assumptions!! As for the reporter! Read my thoughts!
On 10 Nov 2011 at 7:31pm This isn't quite right wrote:
Clam down dear, take the pills and chill (oh and read a book on punctuation!)
On 10 Nov 2011 at 7:36pm Decent Citizen wrote:
Why would I want to read a boring book on punctuation?I can come on here and read your writing about CLAMS?Pot, kettle, etc?
On 10 Nov 2011 at 7:44pm Decent Citizen wrote:
It is also possible of course that it IS a bonfire agitator. Then of course,there are crime numbers given to victims of such!! After all, these things do get around in our small Town! Perhaps "if genuine"it was thought a reader on here knows something?
On 10 Nov 2011 at 7:46pm This isn't quite right wrote:
Oh dear, we need the extra strength pills tonight, don't we?
What are CLAMS?
On 10 Nov 2011 at 7:56pm Decent Citizen wrote:
Clams are a bit like mussels, edible but not too tasty,in fact a bit chewy.Americans use them in chowder.They are often used to keep aquarium water clear.You, told me, patronisingly, to CLAM down dear!
On 10 Nov 2011 at 8:10pm Dickie wrote:
Rita Skeeter..........I mean Anna Roberts up to her old tricks again eh?
On 10 Nov 2011 at 8:10pm Lord Ballantyne wrote:
Well put Ed Can Do... shameful responses and over-egging of 'injuries' by Argus, BBC & Police... never qualified and Police say the percentage of injured is too high.. even though its better than most nights out in Brighton.
On 10 Nov 2011 at 9:21pm Decent Citizen wrote:
This isn"t quite right,you seem to have CLAMMED up!
On 10 Nov 2011 at 9:23pm This isn't quite right wrote:
Clams - fair cop - mea culpa and apologies to Decent Citizen (still think you may need the pills though!)
On 10 Nov 2011 at 9:29pm Decent Citizen wrote:
Fair cop indeed!! Apology accepted. Age is a wonderful thing.It brings wisdom! No pills necessary I assure you.Do not let me deter you from taking yours though!
On 10 Nov 2011 at 11:46pm FeedTheBirds wrote:
Someone put a badger through our letterbox. Did the Argus ask me for the shocking details - fearsomely scratched door, badger crap all over doormat? No they bloody didn't. I suppose that's what comes of not living in Southover's territory.
On 11 Nov 2011 at 7:43am Lewes Lady wrote:
You lot are a bunch of plonkers. Someone asks for help for an incident that could have burnt their house down and killed people and all they give is abuse from bonfire fanatics. I'm sure the police are looking in to this, but they thought they would post on here and get some help. Sadly they were mistaken as most posters on here are idiots.
On 11 Nov 2011 at 8:41am me myself and irene wrote:
@leweslady. hook line and sinker. There is way too much fish in the original post and the almost covenient post by the argus agitator. In short it stinks!!!!!!!!!!!!
On 11 Nov 2011 at 9:03am Harold Wilson wrote:
What is the council going to do about it!
On 11 Nov 2011 at 9:11am Brixtonbelle wrote:
Pointless - have you taken photos as evidence ? Sounds like an awful lot of damage for a rookie. You could even post them here to silence the doubters.
On 11 Nov 2011 at 9:39am huw wrote:
Being lazy (and not having a copy of the Argus) can anyone confirm what I have heard about the 170 injured people. Is it 170 people injured at Lewes or,
as I've been told, 170 people injured at bonfires around Sussex on the 5th?
On 11 Nov 2011 at 9:54am Ed Can Do wrote:
The Argus article certainly suggests that was the figure for Lewes, although they did manage to shoehorn in a couple of reports of firework damage elsewhere in the county on the same page, mentioning only in the body of the respective articles that the incidents happened in Brighton and Crawley (If memory serves) and allowing the headlines to make it look to a casual skim-reader that it all happened in Lewes. As I said elsewhere though, I was speaking to a St Johns who was on duty in Lewes and what qualifies as an injury is a really, really broad term. Pretty much every time someone talks to them it gets written down as an injury incident.
There were a few nice shots of the outside of your pub in their picture special though, I've still got a copy if you want it?
On 11 Nov 2011 at 11:05am brixtonbelle wrote:
the bbc also went with the un-sourced figure of 170 incidents - but 22 actually attending A and E, two of which were the serious head injuries. (I heard it was students falling off the wall of St Anne's).
Most of that 170 were I suspect drunk. Would be interesting to see a break down of the figures, if there is any.
I wonder what the figure is nationally ? Bonfire is after all a national commemoration, Lewes just do it bigger and better than anywhere else.
On 11 Nov 2011 at 11:27am teaboy wrote:
It would also be interesting to see how many of the 'injured' were society members and how many were spectators.
On 11 Nov 2011 at 11:42am king cnut wrote:
I've looked at the above postings several times and I can't see Paul (tory boy) newman abywhere.
Where's Osbornes pet when you need him!
On 11 Nov 2011 at 4:46pm Pointless wrote:
Bloody hell guys! What I posted was entirely true I can assure you.
Details:
Our letterbox is in our office and nobody was inside at the time - so luckily nobody was hurt.
There are two floors of offices above us where people often work late into the evening (as we often do) and the potential for injuries from any fire makes me shudder.
I don't visit the office every day - one of our neighbours said it was fine when he left on Tuesday evening and when he came in on Wed's morning the letterbox and bits of the door were strewn all over the yard. He called the owner of the building who then called us.
I posted this on this forum the day after we found out.
The police cannot realistically do anything except record the incident as there is absolutely no way of telling who (or exactly when) this was done - unless somebody happens to know something.
The 'firework' was placed in the letterbox and exploded inside the letterbox, this caused the front of the letterbox to explode along with part of the door, both outside and inside - mostly outside. There is also scorching to the door.
As I said before the door will have to be replaced at considerable cost.
Yes I did take photos.
Although we were not in the office at the time the same area is used to access flats and so anybody could have been hit by bits of flying shrapnel if they were anywhere in the vicinity.
For the record, I don't live in Lewes, I work in Lewes and spend a lot of time here. Also, for the record, I am a big fan of Bonfire night in Lewes but that doesn't alter the fact that something really potentially dangerous has happened. I'm certainly not an anti-bonfire agitator.
I am not connected with the Argus in any way!
On 11 Nov 2011 at 5:06pm Penguin wrote:
That could not have been a rookie. If a rookie could blow a door apart and strew bits of it around your yard, then I think numerous bonfire boys and girls would have limbs missing, and as for the lady from Seaford that says she was hit in the face......well. This sounds like something much more substantial.
On 11 Nov 2011 at 5:08pm teaboy wrote:
To be fair, the vast majority of posts on this thread are targeted at the Argus and their attitude to Bonfire this year, not your incident. As generally happens this tangent (and various others!) was followed as it evolved.
I for one am glad you're all ok. Sadly, some people in the world are idiots.
On 11 Nov 2011 at 5:10pm Pointless wrote:
Well Penguin, I think any explosive firework when placed in a confined space (such as a letterbox) will have more destructive effect than when it explodes 'in the open'.
By the way, how DO you post pics to this forum?
I'm quite amazed that some of you think this is made-up!
On 11 Nov 2011 at 5:22pm Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:
I know from experience that a lit rookie dropped in a kitchen sink does no damage at all to the sink when it goes off. I agree that the damage reporteed is, imo, unlikely to have been caused by a rookie.
Perhaps someone mistook your letterbox for a parking machine, OP.
On 11 Nov 2011 at 7:21pm peaceful wrote:
Not condoining this activity, however I have blown up many an item with various bangers in my youth. It is inconcievable the damage described could be caused by a rookie unless your office door is from a Wendy House.
On 11 Nov 2011 at 9:43pm Catwoman wrote:
I'm sorry you're getting so much useless flack on here Pointless... i had the same thing when asking for help after a really nasty hit and run road rage driving incident... all i wanted was to know if anyone had witnessed the event as i didn't get the vans reg no. But i find this forum is made up of, mainly, cynical bored people, who just want to have a laugh at others distress... Hope you get more help in the end than i did...
On 11 Nov 2011 at 10:10pm Tealeaf wrote:
Frustrated, powerless, unfulfilled and bitter little people.
To post pics put them somewhere else (like imageshack.us) and put a link to it with your post.
On 12 Nov 2011 at 12:20pm bastian wrote:
just a small point, but how did you post round the swear filter pointless ?.no one else can.
On 12 Nov 2011 at 6:32pm Mr Forks wrote:
The Argus is a piece of sh t wrag, written by pond life wanna be hacks! Sod off back to Brighton journo fool!
On 12 Nov 2011 at 6:45pm Yawn... wrote:
Sadly some people are idiots