New Milton Advertiser 8th Jan 2021

16 · Friday 8th January 2021

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Letters

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virus, one tiny invisible ‘bug’, mutated and got on the next flight out, and so brought the whole structure tumbling down. So, what is God saying to us? I suppose the nearest we might get to this in the Bible is the old story of the Tower of Babel. Everybody, speak- ing the same language, was working together to build the mother of all towers. In itself, that wasn’t a problem, any more than our business mod- els are fundamentally wrong in themselves. No, it was the fact that they hadn’t let God in on the scheme at all. Their tower was quite simply the product of human cleverness and human pride and, unfortunately, that’s where we find our - selves in our secular Western cultures. By and large we have writ- ten God out of the agenda. We want it all, we want it now, and we don’t want God, thank you very much. So, in their case, God sim- ply confused and scattered them. Did they listen to Him? We’re not told. Will we listen to Him? That’s up to us! Dr John Balchin, Jobs after pond toilet removal SIR – Further to Anthony Pasmore’s article (New Forest Notes, 1st January) concerning the Deputy Surveyor’s depart- ment’s hasty demolition of the toilets at Hatchet Pond, there is no doubt this is a cost-saving measure, with the prospect of a purpose-built car park further down the road. I hope they will also provide a ‘finger post’ sign setting out the distances to the nearest points of relief? And to increase the cleaning and servicing Surveyor’s department will act with the same alacrity to con- struct the new car park before closing the existing one. I hope this does not lead to unscheduled stops in the woods on the way to Brockenhurst. Henley Howard, Holbury Potty mouthed jogger shock SIR – I am an elderly, vulner- able, shielding lady living in Barton, who tries to get out most days for some fresh air, exercise and see friendly faces at a distance. On Boxing Day around 10.30am I was walking alone on the pavement by the flats on Marine Drive East, near Naish Estate. A big fellow jogger approached me in the middle of the pavement from the Sea Road direction. I gently waved to him sug- gesting he moved over to pass me, with the whole of the grass verge, road and extensive cliff top area to his left. Without slowing down he just came straight at me (I was almost pinned against the wall!), muttered “P*** off” as he brushed past, and headed for the busy narrow link foot- path to the Ellingham estate. Several passers-by and a young lady jogger were equally shocked at his disgusting and inconsiderate behaviour. My two words to him would be: “selfish ignoramus”. Name and address supplied Animals are the Forest architects SIR – In response to Mr Walsh’s letter (Letters, 1st January), I would like to point out that without the commoners’ an- imals there would be no New Forest. The animals are the architects of the landscape that we all enjoy. Surely it is not too much to ask that the people that travel across this beautiful area take time to appreciate their pres- ence and try not to harm them? It matters not how visible they are if people do not slow down and give them space. Whilst the speed limit is 40mph, that is too fast to pass an unpredictable animal. They have no road sense, and be- cause some people feed them from cars they have no fear. While reflective collars may help we have had a pony knocked down in daylight wearing a collar, another had a new collar fitted and was knocked down the same evening. We all know they are out there day and night and if you can’t see them please slow down. Nobody wants to hit an ani- mal and accidents will happen but with due care and atten- tion and lowering your speed it can be avoided. Commoning has existed for hundreds of years so please be respectful of this tradition of entrusting the safety of our animals to you, the people who use the Forest. Mrs J. Pearce, Bartley schedules of the toilets. I trust that the Deputy

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Wonderful response for food bank SIR – As the chairman of New Forest Basics Bank foodbank I would like to acknowledge

ready, willing and able to clear the mess, which looks more unsightly than a wheelie bin. Such loose rubbish could include Covid-contaminated paper hankies. Having removed bones from a blocked gutter on my roof, I allege (but without provid- ing any evidence) that a bird ripped a sack, grabbed chicken remains and flew onto the roof. After consuming what it wanted, the bird dropped the bones, which slid into the gutter. However, there may be another explanation. Name and address supplied No need for food waste collection SIR – In the proposed installa- tion of wheelie bins, food waste collection is mentioned. I am amazed as I have always put my food waste in a com- post bin – two years later, lucky compost for the garden. I do not need mine to be collected. Wheelie bins – no! They are difficult to use, unsightly and not necessary in our area. E. Cansdale, Barton I will close by saying that I remain incredibly grateful for the hard work put in by my team, ably led by Lynn Peck and Hilary Tudor, who work tirelessly to make this happen. Oliver Stanley, Chair – New Forest Basics Bank, Lymington struggle and hardship. It is because of this team that we can support and respond to our clients in these arduous times where the landscape changes daily. Although the New For- est is an extremely affluent region, we do carry large areas of acute poverty and deprivation, a lot of which is not in plain sight, but we at the food bank are more than aware of the fragility of these communities and know very well that many families are just one pay cheque away from needing the services we offer. Our ethos is that on our watch no child in the New Forest must ever go hungry.

Sack problems are quite real SIR – Noel Baptiste (Letters, 25th December) mentions “the alleged problem of plastic sacks being torn open during the night by birds”. Let him visit a quiet road in Barton when black sacks are collected. My sack goes out at about 9am on Tuesday, as most folks do. At unpredictable times, the sacks are grouped and later collected. On Tuesday mornings, and only then, clever birds gather on the roofs. Unfortunately, the black-sack group is sometimes outside my property. When it is quiet, the birds tear such sacks and, in searching for food, strew rubbish over the pavement and road. If a wind blows into my garden, I retrieve unpleasant items that are impaled in bush- es, hedges and trees. If the sack group is outside a property where the resident is away, the rubbish makes the property look unoccupied. This is a give-away for burglars. After the feast, the liberated rubbish decorates Barton. Few residents and bin operators are We have a team of some 90-plus volunteers, and a board of 11 trustees all of whom go the extra mile to serve our clients in the best way possible during times of here the absolutely won- derful response we have received from the New Forest community during the most difficult year we have ever faced since the food bank was set up. The pandemic has thrown us many curve balls, includ- ing helping those who were isolated but not included in the government support scheme, those who lost their means of income due to busi- ness closures, school meals for children from disadvan- taged families… the list goes on. Not to mention the addi- tional help needed for fami- lies across the region during the Christmas period where we delivered 622 food parcels to those in need.

Steve Elson was up early to snap a New Year’s Day sunrise over Lymington harbour. Please send your photos to ne ws@adt.press

Brexit deal will make UK poorer SIR – I note in last week’s A&T that Forest MPs supported the government’s Brexit deal with the EU, because red tape and fish were a price worth paying. If this was half true, I would agree. It is untrue, however. The Brexit withdrawal agreement is a sad, rushed deal covering manufacturing and agriculture, that excludes services, especially financial services in which Britain ex- cels. It will make our country poorer, less secure and reduce our influence in the world. Under the deal, Britain may diverge from EU environmen- tal, social and labour regu- latory standards (which are widely supported in the UK) and ban EU fishing fleets from our coastal waters in five years’ time. In return, the EU has the right to impose punitive retali- atory trade tariffs if we diverge from its standards, or in the event of “serious disagree- ments on fishing quotas”. Instead of talking-up this latest failure of Boris Johnson and his second-division admin- istration, Forest MPs should be

we have to start with God. I know, He’s out of fashion now, but He is still Almighty and Creator of all things – includ- ing you and me – and, what is more, in spite of us and our unbelief, He is working out His purposes in this world. So, it’s fair to ask, where does He come in to all this? The Bible tells us that noth- ing happens without His per- mission, and that when we’re particularly deaf to His voice, He is prepared to use calami- ties to bring us to our senses. Famine, drought, locusts, plague, invading enemies all raised the question: What is God saying to us? Let’s just think of where we’ve got to, generally with- out Him. We all live today in a highly complicated, interwoven economic structure which we call globalisation. Everything has become international. We have an international infor- mation system which allows us to contact the other side of the world in real time. With Timely notes on payments SIR – Mr Pasmore’s informa- tive New Forest Notes (A&T, 1st January) were, as ever, speaking out when others do not. His paragraphs on the sub- sidy situation in the Forest is extremely timely as the Rural Payments Agency are currently holding a “consultation”, albeit many years after the situa- tion started. This ends on 3rd February. It would be helpful if the full facts could be put before the general public as it is misuse of taxpayers’ money on a grand scale and destroying much of the Forest flora and fauna. Thank you, Mr Pasmore, for once again “taking the bull by the horns” and flagging this situation up. But one wonders where the organisations who claim to care about the Forest are. Do they not have an opin- ion? Name and address supplied Chance to cut animal numbers SIR – I would like to thank An- thony Pasmore for his excellent New Forest Notes (A&T, 1st January). The subsidies consultation on the future of the Basic Payments Scheme is indeed “fiendishly complicated but very important”. It could also be a real oppor- tunity to reduce the unsus- tainable numbers of livestock on the Forest. Fewer animals would mean less pressure on vegetation allowing greater carbon take-up and fewer areas of trashed ground and deep mud in the winter. Supposedly all commoners must have access to sufficient back-up land to care for their stock in an emergency. If this were enforced and subsidies linked to it, numbers would reduce significantly. The current human pandem- ic should remind us that there are animal epidemics too – for example, Foot and Mouth in 2001 when many commoners were unable to bring all their animals in and many died. The consultation would do well to consider this. resentation, the first of many, are too preoccupied waving their little soon-to-be-obsolete union flags to notice or care? J E Gallagher, Address supplied

Once again we must thank Anthony Pasmore for speaking out when others fail to do so and also the unnamed individ- ual who is asking for a judicial review of the exploitation of the current system. Name and address supplied An elevation of human suffering SIR – I was told many years ago that the function of social- ism was to elevate the level of human suffering to a higher plane. It appears that the present government has assumed the mantle of that function. I ask if any of your readers can say why this government is so determined to destroy the economy, shatter businesses and throw thousands of people out of work for no good reason – other than a fear of opinion polls. Ian Davis, Bashley Why not paint animal hooves? Sir – I agree with everything John Walsh said about stock needing to be more visible (Letters, 1st January). Animals are camouflaged on the roads, unless they are fortunate enough to have the slightest bit of white on their coats – grey on grey roads. My thought was fluorescent paint; not on their coats as may be absorbed through skin, but how about on the hooves? Clear and barely visible by day but helping towards preventing a death by night. Some circumstances, blind bends and blind brows, may not be preventable even at low speed but at least measures had been taken to help prevent the animal’s death. Miss C. Bedford, Holbury Thanks for the yacht club meal SIR – On behalf of my brother and myself, I wish to commend Cllr Jacqui England and the Royal Lymington Yacht Club for the provision of Christmas meals for local people. The food provided was ex- cellent and much appreciated. I was impressed that this was delivered to my door by Cllr England herself. Brian D. Gitt, Lymington

paying attention to the limited opportunity they were given to scrutinise the deal, details of which were published just 24 hours before they were debated by parliament. In particular, they should be concerned about Section 31 of the act that enables govern- ment ministers to reshape any aspect of national life the EU previously touched upon with- out parliamentary scrutiny. In hastily passing the Brexit withdrawal agreement, MPs surrendered the sovereignty of Parliament to a dishonest, in- competent government. Forest MPs should be ashamed. Bill Basham, Lymington Now let the NHS have its £123bn SIR – The three New Forest Brexit-supporting MPs, having supported the campaign and finally voted through the trade bill, will no doubt be preparing to pass a bill giving the NHS the annual £123.2bn in addi- tional funding (£230m a day) as alluded to in 2016. Or will it be that they believe those who were gullible enough to believe that blatant misrep-

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Christian Comment THERE’S a question which no one seems to be prepared to ask and that is: What has been happening to us in all this? Well, to answer that one, our ease of travel, we can be anywhere in the world in 24 hours-plus. We have an intricate web of container ships, carry- ing all we need, continually criss-crossing the oceans, while our money can be

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moved to any destination on earth at the press of a key, and a good deal more. For example, many of our production lines depend on components being made in several different countries, which are then booked to arrive here – or wherever they are needed – ‘just in time’. For us in the West, we’ve really never had it so good. We’ve stopped thinking about how we can have out-of-sea- son food on our plates, which might come from Greece or Peru or wherever they will grow it cheaply for us. And, of course, we now think nothing of taking our holidays in the most out-of- the-way parts of the world – whether we’re older and think that we’ve earned it, or younger and assume that a year out is our right before we’re faced with getting a job and earning a living! And the rest. And then, out of the blue, a

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