This week I recognised the importance of perseverance ... lots of you will know that we have building work ongoing in the fields next to our garden.
Four weeks ago, we had been out for a short trip to the tip, and on arriving home, the builders had chopped down our trees which marked the boundary of our garden which were the break between us and the building site.
Two things, the builders' workmen had encroached on our land, and more importantly had decimated the trees which had 10 years of growth and were at least 6ft high. We complained initially to our Borough Councillor, who told us who to contact at the council. We also wrote to the Managing Director of the building company.
Eventually we did receive a visit from the Council, but more importantly a representative from the builder came round to see us so we could show him our boundary, and what had happened.
I am pleased to report that in short, the builders agreed our claims and have built the land up along our boundary, built a retaining wall, and now they are in the process of putting in a good quality fence, together with an established Copper Beech hedge. We already felt this was a good resolution to the problem, but today a Fortnum and Mason food
hamper also arrived to apologise for their mistake and for the upset this had caused.
I suppose one of the reasons I am sharing this story is to say how important it is to follow through and feel empowered to speak up when something has happened to you that you feel isn’t right. A few years ago I wouldn’t have felt able to do this, and I would have accepted what happened without so much as raising a complaint.
But actually if something matters to you, and it has affected your feelings and your life, then you really should speak out as it could make a difference not just for you, but for others as well.
