It’s pandegnomium on our roads…

How do Gnomies?

Busy week here at the bottom of the garden. I’ve been talking to folk about Broadband speeds across the district (very important when you need it to reach as far as the herbaceous borders), and it’s not just family homes that are affected by slow speeds and intermittent connections. Seems those of you who work from gnome are also getting pretty cheesed off with having to decamp to the nearest generic-branded coffee shop that offers reliable wifi to send an email. I’ve passed on these techno-troubles to the councillors that can, and rest assured contact is being made in various villages and campaigns are brewing.

Talking of brews, I’ve been checking in with the new #SaffronHour on Twitter. I’m new to tweeting (being all thumbs and shovel handed) but it’s turning out to be a great way to connect with locals, and chat about the things that matter to folks -not just within the town. It’s Tuesdays between 4-5pm, use the hashtag and see you there. I go by @ArfurGnome (keeping it simple, keeping it real)…

Forecasters are predicting the right proper start of Autumn this week, with winds, rain and more soggy (garden) bottoms than one of Mary Berry’s nightmares. This means that my Winter Pothole Campaign is more significant as potholes start fillin’ up, people use their cars more to avoid the weather on those short trips and road surfaces deteriorate. So far I’m booked to trundle down to:

  1. Felstead;
  2. Great Hallingbury;
  3. Dunmow;
  4. Stebbing;
  5. Saffron Walden

…to have a look at some of those pesky potholes that are being overlooked and underfilled. If you have a pesky pothole that needs some attention, you need to get on the email and drop me a line at, or leave a comment below with the pothole’s location, and previous reporting number and description and I’ll see what I can do.

Have a good week gnomies!