<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Just a friggin bench]]></title><description><![CDATA[Local Insights, Council Accountability]]></description><link>https://www.justafrigginbench.co.uk/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Sun, 11 Oct 2026 05:06:05 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.justafrigginbench.co.uk/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[A Beginner's Guide to Understanding an Environment Committee Meeting]]></title><description><![CDATA[Based on real events. Reader discretion advised. Step 1: Arrive Prepared Before attending an Environment Committee meeting, ensure you have a basic understanding of flowers, bulbs, vandalism, cemetery expansion, local government structure, and the ability to remain awake during procedural discussions. You may also wish to bring a translator fluent in Council. Step 2: Learn About Daffodils The first thing to understand is that daffodils are serious business. You may arrive expecting discussion...]]></description><link>https://www.justafrigginbench.co.uk/post/a-beginner-s-guide-to-understanding-an-environment-committee-meeting</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6aa9b2ec492c8c41baf6b8e2</guid><pubDate>Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:54:14 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5a8fe_80e5a0e9600548ac95a6b01ea109dbe4~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rachael Evans</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Strange Value of Honesty]]></title><description><![CDATA[Honesty seems to have become one of the most undervalued qualities in modern society. Defiantly Not a Plaque honoring Cllr Stan Crawford O.B.E., donated by County Cllr Stella Smedley M.B.E. to the Ollerton &#38; Boughton Town Council. - They don't have plaques On one side, people appear terrified of being honest. They fear offending someone, being challenged, upsetting the status quo, or simply facing uncomfortable consequences. On the other side are those who speak without thought, confusing...]]></description><link>https://www.justafrigginbench.co.uk/post/the-strange-value-of-honesty</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6aa84b44cf39f9d324f14090</guid><pubDate>Mon, 14 Sep 2026 19:37:02 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5a8fe_11b016b19b15418da0ab2ce79ea63ee4~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_954,h_764,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rachael Evans</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Just a Friggin' Bench]]></title><description><![CDATA[People often ask me why this website is called Just a Friggin' Bench. The answer is simple. Because that's what a councillor called it. What started as a question about a missing bench became a journey through local government, complaints procedures, unanswered questions, and a surprising level of resistance to something that should have been straightforward. The funny thing is, nobody ever claimed the bench was the most important issue in the world. Of course there are bigger problems. There...]]></description><link>https://www.justafrigginbench.co.uk/post/just-a-friggin-bench</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6aa44ba6571318e8c9e4f579</guid><pubDate>Fri, 11 Sep 2026 18:47:40 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5a8fe_b1ace85ae3c3413da0e4298124497263~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_547,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rachael Evans</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Something nobody can remove]]></title><description><![CDATA[A memorial bench. A dispute about a location. A disagreement about process. A complaint that should have been simple to resolve. But the truth is that it was never just a bench. For me, it was a place of peace. A place where the noise stopped. A place where nobody needed anything from me. No phone calls. No emails. No deadlines. No demands. Just quiet. In a world that often feels busy, loud and relentless, that small space gave me something increasingly rare: time to think. It allowed me to...]]></description><link>https://www.justafrigginbench.co.uk/post/something-nobody-can-remove</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6aa30c055462f0629b9a060d</guid><pubDate>Thu, 10 Sep 2026 20:02:33 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5a8fe_c26732bcc76d4c14b0cd28ff09ed21ba~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_405,h_398,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rachael Evans</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[In a world where equality, diversity and inclusion are rightly promoted]]></title><description><![CDATA[There is another question that has been troubling me. In a world where equality, diversity and inclusion are rightly promoted, have we accidentally created systems that exclude the very people we are trying to help? Many services now rely heavily on phone calls, online forms, email referrals, self-registration portals and websites. For some people, that's convenient. For others, it's a barrier. What about the parent who is overwhelmed and doesn't know where to start? The adult with anxiety...]]></description><link>https://www.justafrigginbench.co.uk/post/in-a-world-where-equality-diversity-and-inclusion-are-rightly-promoted</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6aa1b2d965014d409c168c9e</guid><pubDate>Wed, 09 Sep 2026 19:31:30 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5a8fe_4b50d30ce78e48c3a15639124ef6b633~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rachael Evans</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Choosing Hope - The Bench That Needed More Committees]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Bench That Needed More Committees Over the past year, I have watched something that was meant to honor a life become surrounded by negativity, arguments, and decisions that have left many people feeling disappointed. But I have made a conscious choice. I refuse to keep feeding the negativity. This bench was never meant to be a source of division. It was meant to be a place of reflection, remembrance, and celebration. It was meant to honour my dad in the community loved, served, and gave...]]></description><link>https://www.justafrigginbench.co.uk/post/choosing-hope2026</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6aa1a7a0f74f332989247d83</guid><pubDate>Wed, 09 Sep 2026 18:56:23 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5a8fe_690742b1bc8348aca4454bb34118a564~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_333,h_393,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rachael Evans</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Another Town Council Meeting... Another Lesson in Being Heard]]></title><description><![CDATA[Tonight's Town Council meeting left me with a familiar feeling. As the meeting progressed, concern after concern was raised, only to be met with the same responses: "That's not our jurisdiction." "You need to speak to the District Council." "That's private land." "The Clerk will write to Highways." "It's too late now." I understand that councils have limits. I understand that not every problem falls within their powers. What I struggle to understand is why every discussion seems to end with...]]></description><link>https://www.justafrigginbench.co.uk/post/another-town-council-meeting-another-lesson-in-being-heard</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6aa19664c5f8cde855519fd1</guid><pubDate>Wed, 09 Sep 2026 17:36:08 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5a8fe_436b8e3b9c0c41e4bec812bbed5345fa~mv2.avif/v1/fit/w_908,h_370,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rachael Evans</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[When Trust Meets Process]]></title><description><![CDATA[It started with a bench. Or at least that's what most people would say. To me, it has never really been about a bench. The bench simply exposed questions about process, accountability and trust. Looking back, the timeline itself raises questions. In 2023, I am told an application was made. Yet later I was informed that no application had actually been submitted. In 2024, a meeting took place at the graveside to discuss the application that apparently did not exist. In 2025, the bench was...]]></description><link>https://www.justafrigginbench.co.uk/post/when-trust-meets-process</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a9a7b2ee12fa7bad8b5b6cc</guid><pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2026 10:03:02 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5a8fe_ccda213f359048748d1952043b2f63be~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rachael Evans</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Most Expensive Thing About a Bench]]></title><description><![CDATA[I recently received a letter from the council's solicitor. The message was clear: they would no longer discuss the bench that has occupied so much time and attention. However, they would welcome an application for another bench. That phrase caught my attention. An application. Two days before receiving the solicitor's letter, I had already received written confirmation from the Town Hall accepting the second bench. So the sudden shift towards an "application" raises an interesting question....]]></description><link>https://www.justafrigginbench.co.uk/post/the-most-expensive-thing-about-a-bench</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a9a763fe12fa7bad8b5aa5b</guid><pubDate>Fri, 04 Sep 2026 07:47:44 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5a8fe_83b2a7e7454643a4a982582e37c69abc~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rachael Evans</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Elephant in the Boardroom]]></title><description><![CDATA[The Elephant in the Boardroom Copilot said: The Elephant in the Boardroom and Why Revenge Is Best Served Cold Every workplace has one. The issue nobody wants to discuss. The decision everyone knows is flawed. The leader whose behavior is quietly tolerated. The strategy that is failing while presentations continue to celebrate success. This is the elephant in the boardroom: a large, obvious problem that everyone sees but nobody openly acknowledges. At first, silence can seem practical. Raising...]]></description><link>https://www.justafrigginbench.co.uk/post/the-elephant-in-the-boardroom</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a8b41cd4e12adafbf7d5cdd</guid><pubDate>Sun, 23 Aug 2026 19:07:54 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5a8fe_b0f3c182e0e24a6a8bafd46c9427e3aa~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rachael Evans</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Peace | Transparency | Accountability ]]></title><description><![CDATA[Patterns There is something strangely reassuring about predictability. Not because predictable things are good. Quite often, they are not. But because there comes a point when behavior stops being surprising. A point when events begin to follow a familiar shape. The details change. The names change. The language changes. Yet the pattern remains untouched. You notice it once. Then twice. Then enough times that eventually you stop asking whether it is a coincidence. You simply wait. The Quiet...]]></description><link>https://www.justafrigginbench.co.uk/post/peace-transparency-accountability</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a8756c9023ad9e6d7fd5eac</guid><pubDate>Thu, 20 Aug 2026 19:46:00 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5a8fe_978bcdd4170a4416952133e27e87999a~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rachael Evans</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[When Fairness Becomes a Fight]]></title><description><![CDATA[I am tired, sad, and fed up. For more than six months, I have been battling over a chair that stood in place for around a year without issue, only to suddenly become a problem. What I wanted was fairness, understanding, and a genuine conversation with people who could see beyond my grief. Instead, I have faced accusations that I failed to follow procedure, despite numerous emails, discussions, and attempts to engage throughout the process. I do not accept the claim that blame sits on both...]]></description><link>https://www.justafrigginbench.co.uk/post/when-fairness-becomes-a-fight</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a82f4f0f59f6f7f1067b445</guid><pubDate>Mon, 17 Aug 2026 11:50:37 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>Rachael Evans</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Value of Being Wrong]]></title><description><![CDATA[One thing I've learned is that it doesn't always take a team of experts, a consultant, or a manager to identify a problem. Sometimes it takes one person willing to read the documentation, understand the system, follow the evidence, and ask difficult questions. I've often found myself in that position. Not because I think I'm the smartest person in the room. Quite the opposite. I'm naturally curious, I like understanding how things work, and I believe documentation exists for a reason. When...]]></description><link>https://www.justafrigginbench.co.uk/post/the-value-of-being-wrong</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a7eb903fd49030edc964c31</guid><pubDate>Fri, 14 Aug 2026 06:55:15 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5a8fe_4ee20205a3554b22b94faaebdbefd5b3~mv2.webp/v1/fit/w_1000,h_714,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rachael Evans</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Some matters retire.]]></title><description><![CDATA[There is an old saying that no question is too difficult if you simply answer a different one. Recent events suggest this principle may now have been adopted as an administrative strategy. July: I was informed that the matter could not be discussed with me because councillors had instructed that it should not be. August: I received an email discussing the matter. Unfortunately, the email did not explain: Why the matter could not be discussed in July. What changed between July and August. When...]]></description><link>https://www.justafrigginbench.co.uk/post/some-matters-retire</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a7de4cf2d04e90cb2282b87</guid><pubDate>Thu, 13 Aug 2026 15:44:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5a8fe_f5b59c441ebe43e1a57ef371f5eae6d9~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rachael Evans</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Email Chronicles]]></title><description><![CDATA[After reading through all the emails and transcripts, I've reached one conclusion: I apparently spent years "banging on about policies and procedures", talking "total and utter rubbish", and sending emails into what can only be described as a protected wildlife habitat for tumbleweed. The good news is that I kept records. The bad news is that they confirm I wasn't imagining any of it. What I thought was a filing system has turned out to be an evidence bundle disguised as a comedy script.]]></description><link>https://www.justafrigginbench.co.uk/post/the-email-chronicles</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a7a27bc093f5cfd041dbc57</guid><pubDate>Mon, 10 Aug 2026 19:34:52 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5a8fe_2328d2abdc9e4a34baf6163d59773f10~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_300,h_302,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rachael Evans</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Regeneration, Questions and Community Priorities in Ollerton &#38; Boughton]]></title><description><![CDATA[As my interest in uno politics continues to grow, I find myself asking more and more questions about what is happening locally. One topic that keeps coming up is the regeneration of Ollerton and Boughton. I'll be honest, the more I look into it, the more overwhelming it becomes. There seem to be so many different organisations involved, all with different responsibilities. Trying to work out who owns what, who pays for what and who is responsible for what can be confusing. Many years ago, my...]]></description><link>https://www.justafrigginbench.co.uk/post/regeneration-questions-and-community-priorities-in-ollerton-boughton</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a7786ab7e238b0b8ae12d6b</guid><pubDate>Sat, 08 Aug 2026 19:57:02 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5a8fe_47c0d3a0a07745948dc99caf876645da~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rachael Evans</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[25 August at 6pm]]></title><description><![CDATA[So, here we are in August. There are no further council meetings until 25 August at 6pm, when the Planning Committee meets again. I've attended several of these meetings now, and one thing that always surprises me is how much time is spent asking questions about the applications being discussed. It often leaves me wondering: don't councillors receive this information in advance? Don't they have access to maps, site plans, and aerial views before the meeting starts? Another thing I find...]]></description><link>https://www.justafrigginbench.co.uk/post/25-august-at-6pm</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a70f3ad8766cba726b4ac5d</guid><pubDate>Tue, 04 Aug 2026 05:00:08 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5a8fe_a3a1a71f0bf7466ea49b114cdd6e9049~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_367,h_137,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rachael Evans</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Uno Rules of Local Politics]]></title><description><![CDATA[Who would have guessed that I wasn't the only person who felt intimidated and looked down upon when terms like "standing orders" were being thrown around? I genuinely felt like an idiot at times, so it's been reassuring to discover that others have felt exactly the same way. I've also learned that I'm not the first person to be looked down at by a councillor with, "I've never seen you in here before," as if that somehow makes a person's views less valid or worthy of being heard. It shouldn't...]]></description><link>https://www.justafrigginbench.co.uk/post/the-uno-rules-of-local-politics</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a70edc3f20e59031dfb9566</guid><pubDate>Mon, 03 Aug 2026 19:52:07 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5a8fe_99813230c7ad4b0db0814dba332e1520~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_986,h_555,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rachael Evans</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[At over £53,000 per year]]></title><description><![CDATA[If local government were judged purely on its ability to turn a simple issue into a bureaucratic adventure, this case would be award-winning. A memorial bench managed to involve multiple councils, numerous councillors, officers, committees, investigations, complaints, GDPR discussions, a Subject Access Request and a promised report that nobody seems able to locate. By the end, the only thing harder to find than accountability was the transparency. But beyond the comedy lies a more serious...]]></description><link>https://www.justafrigginbench.co.uk/post/at-over-53-000-per-year</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a6f595e2aa0dd3fa1681e73</guid><pubDate>Sun, 02 Aug 2026 14:57:46 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5a8fe_4b343c0989f948a5ba99214a5dccd2be~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_582,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rachael Evans</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Looking Ahead... What Could Possibly Go Wrong?]]></title><description><![CDATA[Perhaps the most reassuring part of this entire episode is knowing that the same Council is involved in projects worth more than £14 million, including new buildings, a cinema, shops and major regeneration developments. After all, if a straightforward memorial bench can generate months of confusion, contradictory explanations, admitted administrative failures, communication breakdowns, delayed responses, a missing investigation report and a mysteriously appearing "serious trip hazard",...]]></description><link>https://www.justafrigginbench.co.uk/post/looking-ahead-what-could-possibly-go-wrong</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a6f56502aa0dd3fa1681613</guid><pubDate>Sun, 02 Aug 2026 14:39:32 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/a5a8fe_3ab8e51c35e445cd8ca68307b012d0f9~mv2.png/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>Rachael Evans</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>