A Little Local Difficulty

We have a little rule here that we never slag off other charities – but that doesn’t mean we can’t get mad at them!

We heard last week that a ‘rival’ charity was launching a huge new advertising campaign, claiming to be the only charity that helps animals and therefore their owners.

What total tosh!

SPANA has been doing that since the year dot – Kate, our founder, was very aware of the poverty of the animal owners she saw, and how by treating their animals, she helped the people, particularly the women and children.

And I bet you can think of other charities that do the same, more or less.
So everyone has been hopping mad – the more so as the charity tried to pretend the words used didn’t really mean that. Weasel words. Then someone contacted the Advertising Standards Authority and asked them what they thought the words meant, and they agreed with us. So there.

But what can you do? Their fundraisers had clearly said, ‘this is a great new angle for us’, and blow SPANA and all the others. But if you see it, have a wry little chuckle, and move on.

At last we had a decent weekend, and those with better memories will remember that strange yellow thing in the sky – used to be called ‘the sun’.

So what better than to take out that anger on hedge cutting, lawn-mowing etc.
I have just reached a certain age, and where other men might be given Champagne, or perhaps a few shirts or ties or books - I got a shed.

So all the family rallied round, and we dug and levelled, carted and mixed rubble and ballast, then finally screwed the shed together. Just like a giant Airfix kit – I used to get those as birthday presents a long time ago.

Then just as we were clearing up, we moved a lump of old wood, and there, cool as you like, was Mr. Toad. Now our Masters keep telling us there is much wrong with our country – perhaps there is – but I’m proud to live in a country where in Spring, dozens of people are out on our country lanes with plastic buckets, helping migrating toads across the road so they don’t get squished. Really nice that – and perhaps I’m wrong, but I can’t honestly think of another country where that would happen.

So much nicer than weasel words in Ad Campaigns.

Jeremy Hulme