I AM pleased that TV3's current affairs show Story added fuel to the fire that is Featherston's derelict buildings, but the show could have done it without the underlying sneer against the eccentricities of small towns.
The piece, on Monday night, talked about landlord John Broeren's decaying yet landmark buildings in the heart of Featherston, and South Wairarapa District Council's inability to remedy the situation.
Television producers, I suspect, are always on the lookout for a "hick" town with a funny and unique problem, providing them with an angle. It's the same mentality that ensures programmes like Neighbours at War continue to run.
The show wasn't kind to Broeren, and I'm perfectly happy about that, but it wasn't kind to Featherston either, especially with the closing comments from the two presenters, Duncan Garner and Heather du Plessis-Allan.
Broeren might well be a character, but if you seriously want to find "eccentrics" you don't have to look further than our own capital city. You'll find them on the sidewalks, begging for money.