Major Facebook furore this evening c/o Isaac Birchall. Basically, for such a prominent young businessman, I do wonder whether he needs to be more careful. Business people need to be cautious in their pronouncements lest they lose general respect: Sometimes such comments do not sit comfortably with their position in the community.
The current uproar revolves around council staff removing Birchalls's posters on the town's bus shelters. The posters were for his musical album launch party. Such publicity is innocuous enough, you might think, but the first question is, why have the launch party in Wrecsam when Birchall is so proud to be of Rhuthun/Ruthin. As he states, the posters are on shelters "in the town I was born in (sic), have lived in for 27 years and run a business". So, why not support a Rhuthun venue?
The second question is, why should bus shelters be subject to any form of fly posting, whether for this or any other event? Bus shelters have become something of a free canvas for any and all advertisements and occasions. Isn't it one thing to promote local charities thereon but quite another to advertise a commercial venture such as Birchall's.
I assume fly posting to be an unlawful if not an illegal activity. Shelters look worse with posters applied. But look carefully at the town centre bus shelters and you will see countless rectangles where the residue and remains of sticky tape or glue were once applied to the Perspex. It could be a case of chicken and egg but fly posting seems to contribute to the poor condition of some of the shelters; or perhaps the state of previous poster residua attract more.
Unsurprisingly with Facebook, all but two of the 42 comments (as at 11 p.m.) were against poster removal, supported Birchall. So, no loss of respect there. Even so, Birchall, comes across as something of a bad loser in his replies.
Lest readers feel that I am anti-Birchall, note that in reviewing this year's Top Dre, I felt that Birchall and his band were the best of the live entertainments this year.
September 2nd Update: this story reached today's Denbighshire Free Press. Most of the articles therein about the county council tend to have the words "outraged" or "disgusted" or similar in the first sentence. This tends to be followed by a fairly negative stance. Here, though, the opening sentence and the report itself were much more measured. You sense that the particular journo had little sympathy for Birchall. Half the column inches were devoted to the Denbighshire viewpoint and such a high proportion is also very rare.
This bus shelter at Market Street has proven difficult to photograph but look at all the gunk following the removal of fly posters
The current uproar revolves around council staff removing Birchalls's posters on the town's bus shelters. The posters were for his musical album launch party. Such publicity is innocuous enough, you might think, but the first question is, why have the launch party in Wrecsam when Birchall is so proud to be of Rhuthun/Ruthin. As he states, the posters are on shelters "in the town I was born in (sic), have lived in for 27 years and run a business". So, why not support a Rhuthun venue?
From Birchall's own Facebook page, "Keep your eye out for out (sic) poster! We're going to be plastering Ruthin, Wrexham, Chester & Beyond with this over the coming weeks before the Album Launch party!
The second question is, why should bus shelters be subject to any form of fly posting, whether for this or any other event? Bus shelters have become something of a free canvas for any and all advertisements and occasions. Isn't it one thing to promote local charities thereon but quite another to advertise a commercial venture such as Birchall's.
Unsurprisingly with Facebook, all but two of the 42 comments (as at 11 p.m.) were against poster removal, supported Birchall. So, no loss of respect there. Even so, Birchall, comes across as something of a bad loser in his replies.
Lest readers feel that I am anti-Birchall, note that in reviewing this year's Top Dre, I felt that Birchall and his band were the best of the live entertainments this year.
September 2nd Update: this story reached today's Denbighshire Free Press. Most of the articles therein about the county council tend to have the words "outraged" or "disgusted" or similar in the first sentence. This tends to be followed by a fairly negative stance. Here, though, the opening sentence and the report itself were much more measured. You sense that the particular journo had little sympathy for Birchall. Half the column inches were devoted to the Denbighshire viewpoint and such a high proportion is also very rare.
