Gold medal miseries

Can you imagine these two as your neighbours?

An elderly couple from north London are being taken to court for refusing to pay the levy on their council tax bill which will fund the 2012 Olympics.

For two years Thomas and Rita Glenister of Barnet have withheld £33.35 of their annual bill, the amount they said would be their contribution to the Games. The couple said all British citizens should contribute, not just Londoners. (more)

Actually, they didn't say all British citizens, the wife seems to be letting the Scottish and Welsh off...

Mrs Glenister, 74, said: "It isn't the money - we can pay - but I finally thought that it is time to stick my short little legs down and say 'up with this I will not put'.

"If everyone in England pays it then I will, but the fact that it is just Londoners paying it seems very unfair. I'm not going to run round the track, I'm not going to benefit from this 'legacy'.

"I'm not a killjoy - I think the Games are great - but I don't see why we should pay for it."

Funny, I don't benefit from this selfish old misery's Freedom Pass but I'm not withholding the portion of my council tax which pays for it. It would be cruel to jail them, though, so how about we remember their brave struggle against paying for something which will hopefully benefit their city by naming the Olympic stadium after them?

The Thomas and Rita Glenister Stadium - with "The Games are great - but I don't see why we should pay for it" written above the entrance. It'd be brilliant, and the staff of the Evening Standard and London Lite could see it and remember what brave contributions their publications made to our city in the late 2000s. Oh, it'd be a brilliant memorial to cynicism. It's a great idea, isn't it?

Comments

[martymc]

"up with this I will not put" - Who would have thought that Yoda would be against the Olympics.

[Carlbob]

At the risk of tediously "Me too"-ing... I absolutely flaming agree with you. For some reason this story got my heckles up more yesterday than anything else for some time.

There's lots of things I think are a waste of my taxes, but, well, them's the breaks.

[Clare Griffiths]

presumably Mrs Glenister sees herself as a moden day Churchill?
http://www.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/churchill.html

[Shameful]

I too am surprised that we find something to agree on - but the attitude of some pensioners who trot out this nonsense is ludicrous for the reasons you state!

Its not just the freedom pass they benefit from

eg adult social services? day classes? reduced entrance to all sorts of things

As a single 30 something tax payer with no kids - should I also withhold my portion for schools? youth and play services? registrar services?

Where would all this nonsense end if everyone was penny pinching like this couple.

They should be ashamed.

[Rooney]

I hate to sound like a dick, but I think I'm about to anyway. If you have no interest in sport whatsoever the Olympics does come across as a rather massive expenditure for little real return.A quick calculation led me to believe that all the tax I will ever pay in my life will go half way to paying for us to win a few cycling medals this year. I understand that the London Olympics are supposed to leave us with a lot of stadiums and things but I'm sure that much of the money money will go on a whole load of ceremony and athlete training which no one will even remember in a decade. People argue that training British athletes inspires our kids to play sports. I work with children, most of whom love football. When I ask them which players they like it is clear they are inspired by non British athletes just as much as our home grown talent.

hmm..I do sound like a dick.