Finickity Facebook Goes to War on Rustic Restaurateur
Matthew Steeples
Finickity ‘Angry People in Local Newspapers’ Facebook group members get it completely wrong in attacking a restaurateur fined for putting up a poster advertising work at his Italian in Bristol
Riccardo Damiani runs a “rustic” Italian restaurant in Bristol that serves food that looks simple yet delicious. He clearly is someone actually trying to be successful and someone who wants to employ people, but in doing so he’s pissed off the people of the finickity Facebook group Angry People in Local Newspapers.
His venue, La Panza – which has a charming Georgian façade and is named rather charmingly and honestly for “rounded abdomen, in other words a big, full, happy belly” – struggled to get staff no doubt due to the repeated coronavirus lockdowns and Brexit and as a result he placed a poster on a lamppost offering people work.
In any sane society, people would be delighted to see opportunity being offered, but this was not case with the goons at Bristol City Council. They responded by giving Mr Damiani a fine of £150 under the Highway Act 1980 for illegal flyposting in July 2021.
Speaking to Bristol Live yesterday, Damiani remarked:
“It’s absolutely insane how many people just leave a flyer saying my cat is missing or advertising nights out. It happens all over Bristol, Stokes Croft is the epicentre of it, and I can’t believe that this has happened.”
Subsequently prosecuted and summoned to the local magistrates’ court earlier this week in spite of having offered to pay the fine in August 2021, an adjournment has sensibly been made, but this simply set off members of Angry People in Local Newpapers.
Responding furiously, 27 members of the group have thus far put fingers to keyboards and one, Jeremy Twiggs, mocked: “Yeah, if everyone else jumped off a bridge, would he do it too? As my nan used to say: ‘Probably,’” whilst another, Ste Biram, added: “I can only imagine the quality of staff you’ll get from advertising on a lamppost.”
Amusingly, however, making a mockery of Boris Johnson’s current travails, one Dave Jackson concluded: “Should have advertised a cheese and wine party.”
On Instagram, La Panza describes itself as a “traditional trattoria and Italian restaurant serving regional food, pasta, wine and cocktails.” It is open from 12 noon until 10pm, Tuesday to Saturday for aperitivo and music.Images of food and drink served at this restaurant suggest a venue that serves simple, yet delicious items in a relaxed setting. That keyboard warriors on social media and a local council that frankly should be supporting not hindering local businesses get angry about its patron advertising to offer members of its local community work is nothing other than ludicrous we’d suggest.In the past, we’ve lauded members of ‘Angry People in Local Newspapers’ for their amusing finds, but on this occasion they are wrong to condemn a businessman for trying to find staff for a place clearly serving perfectly decent grub at perfectly reasonable prices.
Last March, when APILN members had a pop at a clearly ropey hobbit-like couple named Mr and Mrs Kipling, they were spot on. This Aston Martin driving dweller of a Grade II listed cottage thought he could get away with adding a hideous UPVC carbuncle conservatory to his home without planning permission. When he failed and was told to tear down the hideous structure, he bombarded everyone from Boris Johnson to Prince Charles and when that failed, he complained angrily to the ‘Banbury Guardian.’ This clear lunatic remarked: “We feel that our lives are being dictated to by people that haven’t even seen our house or the conservatory – would they eat their meals off a tray 24/7 – I don’t think so. We are both lifelong members of the National Trust so there’s no way we would damage our property. The inspector is saying that we are hurting the wall… But we’re not causing any harm. We have emailed Boris though he is otherwise engaged at this time, Jeremy Wright MP who did reply, Robert Jenrick MP housing minister who has not replied and the Prince of Wales who immediately sent a letter of support but stated he was not allowed to intervene. We are going to keep going on with this until some form of common sense prevails. We’re not very good with Facebook and Twitter, and we would like to start a petition to allow us to have it remain for the next eight years.”
