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March 2025 | Phonebox Magazine 35Heading for suspension?There seems to be trouble brewing on the Olney Noticeboard Facebook Page. It seems to me that someone certainly doesn%u2019t want the plebs putting up views they don%u2019t agree with.It%u2019s a strange old setup as no one really knows how one becomes an admin. They seem to be a group of people who hide behind a keyboard, checking the views of the good folk of Olney, only to disregard them.%u00a0I posted a thread about how Chris Curtis, our elected MP, voted on the Assisted Dying Bill a few weeks back. I didn%u2019t make any view of my own; just let the people he represents know how he voted. I was given a 48-hour suspension for that misdemeanour. Result: No reason given by the unelected members.I think I mentioned in a previous article that Sophie Garner, who runs the local choir and puts a huge amount more into Olney than most, agreed with an article I%u2019d written in this very magazine and put the article up on the infamous Olney Noticeboard page. It was taken down. Sophie then re-posted it, and it was taken down even more swiftly than the fi rst time, and at quite a late hour. They%u2019d clearly been hovering over their keyboards in their darkened room, awaiting this.The curious thing here is that the article had already been published and read by readers of the Phonebox, so what was the reason the admin took it down? %u00a0Well, I%u2019ll tell you, the article was about my support of BOFF (The Big Olney Food Festival) and some, not all, of OTC want to fi nish off BOFF as, possibly, do some admin members%u2026 I know more than I%u2019m writing, to be honest, but let%u2019s leave it at that, as I don%u2019t want our dear editor to get too stressed on the matter.Then, another signifi cant local matter comes along. Farmers descended on Newport Pagnell to object to various farming matters. Many people around here not only support small farmers but aren%u2019t happy that good farmland was compulsorily purchased to build a swathe of new houses with very little %u2013 if any %u2013 public consultation. My old stamping ground of Newport Pagnell is an absolute mess. But that%u2019s another story.One of the admins, on the day it happened, quickly put up an article undermining the protest. Fine, that%u2019s a personal view. Then, a friend of mine let me know that his daughter had posted an article supporting the farmers, and that article, taken from ITV, was taken down. So, an admin is allowed to post articles of their own view against the farmers but then stop others from supporting the farmers. It%u2019s not really about farming or BOFF. It%u2019s about an abuse of power. There is a current thread where the admin is taking a great deal of fl ack and calling for resignations, etc, which isn%u2019t surprising. They might have taken it down before you read this, but as you might have guessed, I take screenshots of everything just in case I need to qualify anything.If the admin can%u2019t bring themselves around to be impartial then they should step down with immediate eff ect. I%u2019d do the job. Easy enough I%u2019d say. I%u2019d never take anything down unless it was inciting violence in any shape or form. I would also explain fully if, and why, anyone was banned or suspended, something they don%u2019t seem to feel the need to do.I%u2019m sure there are others who would happily step into the breach to help redress the balance. Or maybe just pull themselves together and accept that there are plenty of views, and it doesn%u2019t all have to be about dog poo.I%u2019ll probably be banned from the page for life now for daring to upset their little domain, but, well, if I am, I am. As my other banned pals tell me, there is the Olney Noticeboard Outcasts, made up of the good folk of Olney who have incurred the wrath of the establishment.But everywhere you turn, it%u2019s utter madness. You have Andrew Gwynn, the ex-Health Secretary, sacked for sitting behind his keyboard sending messages hoping old people %u2013 who hadn%u2019t voted Labour %u2013 would die, plus sexist messages against his own party colleagues and accusing someone of This article has been heavily redacted, edited, spell-checked, and generally chuckled at. Nothing mentioned in the story below relates to any living person, or indeed any person who has never lived. Please fasten your seatbelts and get your Ipads out.sounding too Jewish. The new minister who has taken over from him, Ashley Dalton, is quoted as saying that a person %u2018self-identifying%u2019 as a llama should be taken seriously. Yes, you didn%u2019t misread that. A llama. In fairness, llamas can learn simple tasks after only a few repetitions and, overall, are pleasant creatures to be around, so there may be room for them in government, even if they do tend to spit at you now and again.Then there is the C of E crisis, where bishops are falling like skittles for covering up all kinds of skullduggery within the top end of the church. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, not only %u2018forgot%u2019 to pass information of serious abuse in 2013 about a pal of his, but actually supported Paula Vennells, the disgraced Post Offi ce CEO, and pushed for her to become the Bishop of London, the church%u2019s third most senior role and said in a foreword to his book %u2018Reimagining Britain%u2019 that she had %u2018Shaped my thinking over the years%u2019. Which explains a great deal. Not seen either of them about for some time. It%u2019s a great shame for the church as many people support their local churches (I do) but are astounded by the ghastly hierarchy.The thing to remember is if you do put your name into the public eye to attempt to shape anyone%u2019s view, then you must be accountable to the people you are attempting to infl uence, and that includes politicians, church leaders, admin, and me. I%u2019m forever being hauled in by the police, etc, to account for my ramblings, and ok, I always tell them to grow up and get a life, but at least I do it face-to-face with respect and a nice cup of coff ee (usually at The Cherry Tree) and you%u2019d be amazed at how eff ective being open is. Oh, and my email is%u00a0 davidpibworth@googlemail.com%u00a0 if anyone wants to know, or on most Thursdays I have coff ee with my brother at the Cherry Tree at about 10.30. Do pop in.I%u2019ve run out of writing room, but the rot always starts at the top, and if we wonder why many people sit hiding behind their keyboards, you don%u2019t have to look up too far.See you next month!Dave%u2026