Council Affairs: Smooth sailing in Council chambers

DESPITE whispers of mutinous plotting, the first Metropolitan District meeting since Summer in the City went off without a hitch.

DESPITE whispers of mutinous plotting in the dusky wings of Merchant’s Quay, the first Metropolitan District meeting since Summer in the City went off without a hitch.

Not a cross word was said, and there wasn’t one single spiteful mention of our lord and master John Moran nor his closure of The Crescent last month. Progress, indeed!

Someone’s clearly had a word with the local authority insurgents, and finally, business appears, at least on the public stage, to be crooned from the same We Are The World hymn sheet.

No matter the reason, it’s certainly nice to see business finally being taken care of without toys being thrown from the pram or hissy fits of Mariah Carey proportions.

The September Metropolitan District meeting was an old school affair. The business at hand was taken care of with a no nonsense approach, just like in olden times. I’m still nursing the bruises from pinching myself in disbelief.

There was no walkouts, no raised voices, the Mayor didn’t even get dishonourable mention.

Not even when horror was expressed at the loss of next month’s Halloween parade in the city did they as much as whine or whimper. This is going to take some getting used to, I tell you.

We’ve had a couple of special meetings this month already where the Mayor was in the chamber with his apostles and naysayers and not a hint of the Ides of March from anyone. What are they putting in those scones, I want to know?

Can this newfound harmony last? Are the malcontents quietly sharpening their pitchforks down the back fields of the Boro Park? Perhaps the Mayor has turned a new leaf and started taking onboard their musings?

Are there pigs flying in the skies over the old O’Mara’s Bacon factory? Have councillors, executive, and first citizen discovered enlightenment over the summer break? Will they share this experiential wisdom with their humble serfs in the months ahead?

There’s a real discombobulated Twin Peaks vibe to all this. It’s all very pleasant, and long overdue with it, but what’s changed? Why the sudden unity and lack of howling like banshees at a Halloween parade of Octobers past?

Don’t get me wrong, we’ll take it. I just have this unsettling feeling in my stomach. Lets see what the full meeting brings, I guess!

Peace won’t be kept by force, but could it be, councillors have now learned that the price of aggression is not cheap?