Icecream - Obesity & Harrow Council

[balli hi]

In an attempt to stop children getting fat , Harrow Borough Council , it was reported today , has banned all icecream vans / vendors from operating in their area Not that i have a vested interest of any sort , but stopping kids from buying icecream ? whats it all coming to i ask myself , as a child growing up , one of the highlights of my day during the summer months was hearing the jingle of the icecream van then rushing indoors to tell my mum whilst she frantically fumbled for some change so as i could buy an icecream before the vendor drove away.

Is this just another case of Big Brother gone mad , whats next on the hitlist ? .

I'm often left thinking that there are more lunatics outside the asylum than in . I would have thought that there were far more serious things that this particular council could be aiming to tackle , rather than going for the soft option ( no pun intended ) and denying kids the chance to buy an icecream.... GRRRR

[Karma Supra]

Thats ok, they'll buy crack in the playground instead with funds raised from robbing cars.

Clearly a favourable outcome!

[hertsnminds]

As with everything, cigarettes, alcohol, McDonalds, Bongela it is the nasty people selling the bad things who are to blame not the parents or the children themselves.

To use cars as an analogy if the Government felt so strongly that the speed of vehicles was a contributing factor in deaths on the road why do they allow manufacturers to make cars that go faster than the national limit? They do not allow any cars to be made without seat belts or headlights both very worthy safety features.

[Pat2u]

In an attempt to stop children getting fat , Harrow Borough Council , it was reported today , has banned all icecream vans / vendors from operating in their area Not that i have a vested interest of any sort , but stopping kids from buying icecream ? whats it all coming to i ask myself , as a child growing up , one of the highlights of my day during the summer months was hearing the jingle of the icecream van then rushing indoors to tell my mum whilst she frantically fumbled for some change so as i could buy an icecream before the vendor drove away.

Is this just another case of Big Brother gone mad , whats next on the hitlist ? .

I'm often left thinking that there are more lunatics outside the asylum than in . I would have thought that there were far more serious things that this particular council could be aiming to tackle , rather than going for the soft option ( no pun intended ) and denying kids the chance to buy an icecream.... GRRRR

Surely they will lose out don't the ice cream venders pay the council to trade on the streets of harrow ?

[Bizarra]

If the kids are thrown out to play in the streets, as we used to be, fields in my case, but same thing, then they won't be long wearing off the effects of one Icecream

If, however, they are couch potatoes in front of the Tele, Computer or X box etc, then they will be obese. That is the fault of the parents, not the Icecream.

Bureaucracy gone mad & getting madder

[Demonic Angel]

Ice cream as a treat doesn't make kids fat.... this sort of behaviour does....

I'm ashamed to say she lives nearby! :(

[Raistlin]

If the kids are thrown out to play in the streets, as we used to be,fields in my case, but same thing, then they won't be long wearing off the effects of one Icecream

If, however, they are couch potatoes in front of the Tele, Computer or X box etc, then they will be obese. That is the fault of the parents, not the Icecream.

Bureaucracy gone mad & getting madder

I couldn't agree more ;)

[balli hi]

In an attempt to stop children getting fat , Harrow Borough Council , it was reported today , has banned all icecream vans / vendors from operating in their area Not that i have a vested interest of any sort , but stopping kids from buying icecream ? whats it all coming to i ask myself , as a child growing up , one of the highlights of my day during the summer months was hearing the jingle of the icecream van then rushing indoors to tell my mum whilst she frantically fumbled for some change so as i could buy an icecream before the vendor drove away.

Is this just another case of Big Brother gone mad , whats next on the hitlist ? .

I'm often left thinking that there are more lunatics outside the asylum than in . I would have thought that there were far more serious things that this particular council could be aiming to tackle , rather than going for the soft option ( no pun intended ) and denying kids the chance to buy an icecream.... GRRRR

Surely they will lose out don't the ice cream venders pay the council to trade on the streets of harrow ?

The icecream vendors are complaining that Harrow Council have directed resources ( police ) towards having them moved on within 5 minutes of plotting up , the police insist the vendors move on or they will be charged with" trading without a license ", the trouble is its impossible to obtain a license .

Theres some Text below that i've copied & pasted from a Forum i found that were discussing the subject :

Tough On Ice Cream, Tough On The Causes Of Ice Cream...

The jolly jingle of a nearby ice cream van is a sure sign of the approach of summer.

But the familiar sound could soon be a thing of the past if council officials have their way.

They are banning ice cream vendors from parking in residential streets for fear they will cause a nuisance or make children fat.

Yup, in a recession, the best thing Harrow council can think to do is ensure its harder for people to earn a living!

Traders who break the rules are being moved on by police within as little as five minutes.

Hah! Try getting them to come out to a burglary that quick!

Earlier this week, officers moved on Kypros Kimonos five minutes after he parked his van in a Harrow street. His customers were brusquely told to go home.

The 50-year- old from Wembley said: They told me they would arrest me because I did not have a licence to trade.

But I spoke to the council and they told me there is no way I can get one it does not exist.

There are at least 20 ice cream vans on the streets of Harrow, does this mean they all have to go away immediately?

Theres a nice Catch 22 you need a piece of paper to work, but the piece of paper doesnt officially exist! Sounds oddly familiar!

A spokesman for Harrows environmental health department said the council had banned vendors from all public land including parks and streets.

He added: Police are clamping down on it now we have been very lax.

We have been very lax, have we?

I wonder, has there been a flood of irate council tax payers demanding to have fewer choices of food vendor in their area? No? Well then, we dont need to worry about it, do we...?

Or have we forgotten that we work for us?

Angela Mawle, of the UK Public Health Association, said research was needed to see if a ban on ice cream vans would work.

Ice cream is a fattening product, a luxury item. Councils need to start thinking about how they can promote healthy communities, she said. However, the priority should be fast food.

No, Angela, councils should not be thinking about how they can promote healthy communities. Thats not why we have councils.

They should be thinking about keeping the streets clean and well maintained, the potholes to a minimum, helping (not hindering) businesses and ensuring the basic services are in place and work promptly.

No one, but no one, pays council tax for this type of council action...

Posted by JuliaM at 13:11

Labels: broken Britain, control freakery, local councils, NuPuritans

8 comments:

Vetnurse said...

I was fairly calm till l read this. Then council comments sent my blood from boil to over steaming l just wish had a chance to tell these council idiots exactly what l think about them and their behaviour.

25 April 2009 13:26

Chalcedon said...

I saw this in an oline news 'paper' this morning. I couldn't believe it. Ice cream vans come to where I live once a week at the weekend. One icecream a week isn't going to make the children fat. I haven't seen an obese child in our neighbourhood. Just a few obese mothers.

[balli hi]

Thats ok, they'll buy crack in the playground instead with funds raised from robbing cars.

Clearly a favourable outcome!

I'm Glad you've mentioned that , cos while the council are directing resources to tackle all those nasty criminal icecream vendors , the real criminals are having a field day !

[Boro Sera]

Ice cream as a treat doesn't make kids fat.... this sort of behaviour does....

I'm ashamed to say she lives nearby! :(

Em, from the size of her she probably lives fairly close to all of us ! :(

[Karma Supra]

[plus one]

one ice wouldnt hurt a child, or make them obese!

its the amount of crisps and junk food they cram down there throats at home!!

[rpaterson]

With regards to the overweight lady supposedly cramming junk down her kids' throats, since when do we believe what we read in the papers??? She was on GMTV yesterday morning clearing things up with Dr Jones. I saw enough to convince me that the press had blown things all out of proportion. The problems start when people just look at a person and jump to an assumption.

My wife has type 2 diabetes and is chunky. She went to dieticians for years when she was of primary school age and the 'experts' basically accused her mum of lying about my wifes diet. The asssumption was 'You're fat, therefore you must stuff your face with crap'. She doesn't like sweet things, nor did/does she eat like a horse. It wasn't until a few years ago, when she moved up to Scotland with me that she was tested for diabetes. She had been diabetic for at least 10-15 years so what kind of trauma has that had on her kindeys, eyes etc??? All because an 'expert' couldn't find the answer in her textbook or didn't bother doing her job correctly. Naturally, there are good health care professionals amongst the wasters - in too many cases it's down to luck alone whether you get a good one or not.

Rant over :)

[Karma Supra]

Harrow.

[balli hi]

With regards to the overweight lady supposedly cramming junk down her kids' throats, since when do we believe what we read in the papers??? She was on GMTV yesterday morning clearing things up with Dr Jones. I saw enough to convince me that the press had blown things all out of proportion. The problems start when people just look at a person and jump to an assumption.

My wife has type 2 diabetes and is chunky. She went to dieticians for years when she was of primary school age and the 'experts' basically accused her mum of lying about my wifes diet. The asssumption was 'You're fat, therefore you must stuff your face with crap'. She doesn't like sweet things, nor did/does she eat like a horse. It wasn't until a few years ago, when she moved up to Scotland with me that she was tested for diabetes. She had been diabetic for at least 10-15 years so what kind of trauma has that had on her kindeys, eyes etc??? All because an 'expert' couldn't find the answer in her textbook or didn't bother doing her job correctly. Naturally, there are good health care professionals amongst the wasters - in too many cases it's down to luck alone whether you get a good one or not.

Rant over :)

I can relate to your story, my friends son was born with one kidney and to this day he is still under the care of Great Ormand Street Childrens Hospital, and because of his condition he subsuquently suffers with his weight , on one occasion my friend was contacted by someone , now i can't remember if it was social services or if it was the chief medical officer of his sons school or both , but basically my friend was warned that both he and his wife had a duty of care to insure that their son had a full and proper balanced diet , and that their sons appearance suggested otherwise , naturally my friend was clearly upset and insulted by the tone of which he had been taken to task , and aranged an appointment with the people concerned , the upshot was that he put them straight on just what exactly his sons diet consisted of , which indeed was a very healthy and balanced diet , my friend and his wife never allow their children to have fizzy drinks , crisps , fattening biscuits of any sort , cakes ect , they simply do not buy it , but instead offer and encourage healthy eating for their kids, and pointed out to the people who were pointing the fingers that had they bothered to first find out the facts instead of going purely on appearance then he and his wife could have been spared further unneccessary anguish and pain . Needless to say he was never contacted again.

KIdney Functions Explained In Brief:

Why are your kidneys so important? We can live quite well with only one kidney and indeed, some people live healthily even though born with one missing. Our kidneys are amazing, they play a major role in maintaining your general health and wellbeing but are not usually thought of as essential to a healthy life. But while bones can break, muscles can waste away and the brain can sleep without risk to life, if both kidneys fail, as happens in end stage kidney failure, bone, muscle or brain can not carry on. Without any kidney function our body dies.

What is the role of your kidneys in keeping you healthy?

act as filters for your body

control blood pressure

make red blood cells, and

maintain strong and healthy bones

Think of your kidneys as an extremely sophisticated, environmentally friendly, waste disposal system, which sorts non-recyclable waste from recyclable waste, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, while also cleaning your blood. Every hour your blood supply circulates through the kidneys about 12 times. Each day your kidneys process around 200 litres of blood, with around 1 to 2 litres of waste leaving the body as urine. Much of this waste is produced by the body as it processes the food you eat. Kidney function is essential for life!

[Cherry Red Pocket Rocket]

Talking about big brother... There is a school in Reading that wanted to thumb print all its students whenever they rented a book from the library. Sounded very much like a big brother scenario to me. Not that I have anything against it mind you. I think finger prints and retina scans would be quite useful. A great deterent against crime. I would object to cameras and secret microphones in every home like the wonderful George W. Bush Jr. wanted to do.