New Milton Advertiser 11th Dec 2020

22 · Friday 11th December 2020

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Letters

Write to news@adt.press with your phone number and full address, which can be withheld from publication on request. Letters may be edited.

Forest firms in desperate need SIR – I have been grateful for your coverage of Covid restrictions and support for local businesses in the New Forest – both as chairman of the New Forest Business Partnership and as the avoid illegal and dangerous parties In the short-term, New Forest businesses need the government to:

Christmas, and the glitter and excitement can get in the way of what we are truly celebrat- ing. For Jesus was not born to the sound of sleigh bells or discovered nicely wrapped un- der a Christmas tree. Instead he was born in a stable among the animals and laid in a feeding trough because there was no room for his parents at the inn in overcrowded Bethlehem. Times were harsh for ordi- nary folk in occupied Pales- tine and it was taxation that had forced a heavily pregnant woman to travel all the way to the little town. Like our lives today, the winter would have seemed very bleak and spring would a forward brim to reduce the glare which is tiring and now- adays, like in the early days of motoring, with tall windscreens I consider myself much safer wearing a peaked cap – espe- cially at this time of the year with the sun so low morning and evening. Maybe an instructor would like to add a comment. Derek Redman MBE, Bashley More suspects in bird reduction SIR – In reply to Peter White- field on the subject of gos- hawks (Letters, 27th Novem- ber). Nightingales are the victim of deer browsing, which destroys the cover these birds use for nesting. Development of sites where they breed, such as Lodge Hill in the Home Coun- ties, plays a big toll. There is far less coppicing and climate change are the culprits, not a bird of prey. Turtle doves are the victim of a change in agricultural practice, which now has a changed cycle of cropping, with the stubbles ploughed directly after harvest. The virtually uncontrolled shooting and trapping of these birds in Mediterranean countries does not help. The badger will take ground nesting birds, but also enjoys a diet where earthworms do play a part, as does another animal Peter Whitefield will be familiar with, the fox. I have been in the Forest for 65 years and have always had a keen interest in its flora and fauna. I would contest Peter Whitefield in his assumption that it is the sparrow hawk, cats and magpies which are to blame. C.E. Lock, Everton Desperation over closed loos SIR – Today (Thursday 3rd December at 4pm) I felt the urgent need to visit a public toilet. So I went to the only public

have seemed a long way off. But it was in those harsh circumstances that the birth of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God took place and the light of that event has spread its message of love and hope down through the cen- turies and around the world. Just as the host of angels spread their message of joy to the shepherds on the hillside, we can still celebrate the true meaning of Christmas and, with God’s support and bless- ing, we shall see winter give way to the light and warmth of spring. toilets in New Milton, on the corner of the recreation ground, on Old Mil- ton Road. What a horror story unfolded – every door/cubicle was closed and locked. I am registered disabled and do have a Radar key so as to be able to use the larger rooms reserved for the disabled. Even the disabled cubicle was locked. I had to try and make it to a local supermarket that had toilets that were unlocked. As luck was on my side, I made it – I feel only just – but I made it. Am I to understand that the good people of New Milton do not need to use the loo when out and about in town? When the town was in lockdown, I can understand the loos being closed. I did not agree with it then, but we are not in lockdown now, we are in Tier 2. As I left the toilets, and stopped at the traffic lights, I noticed a council pick-up pull up onto the pavement, for what reason I do not know (maybe to unlock and clean the unused toilets). If you see teeth marks, in the outside of the loo doors, you’ll know I was not the only person in desperate need. What about pregnant women, or women with young/ mini people? How are they supposed to manage? Pee or even poo on the grass in the recreation ground? Name and address supplied  New Forest District Ccouncil said: We are very sor- ry to hear of this unfortunate incident. These toilets have an automated locking mechanism set to close at 5.30pm. We keep some cubicles closed on a rotation basis during the day to allow them to be deep cleaned safely, so this is why some would have been unavail- able. We have checked the locking mechanism which is correctly set to close at 5.30pm. There should have been sufficient facilities available including accessible toilets at that time of the day so we can only apologise that none were available.

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vaccination yellow passport. So this system already exists to certify vaccinations. Even though we are in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, the government is failing to certify vaccinations for Covid. Surely this is going to be- come a WHO requirement for entry and travel, and we also need this to be a requirement here in the UK. This would also help the tourist industry to recover. Also, as teenagers are required to produce proof of identity to buy alcohol, I don’t see the problem with asking them to produce proof of vaccination. If we do require another lockdown, wouldn’t this help to keep hospitality open and save jobs? It seems to me that the government is only doing half the job. So I am going to ask my doc- tor for a vaccination certificate – even if I don’t get one. We are just asking for the right to trade as fully and safely as we know we can, to help us survive the winter and bounce back strongly in 2021. Matthew Lawson, Chair, New Forest Business Partnership  replace the Job Reten- tion Bonus with an equiva- lent scheme to recognise the fact that we have main- tained our local workforce in difficult circumstances and had promised funding removed  extend the rent debt moratoria to ensure the in- tegrity of our businesses and avoid mass evictions, closures and job losses  ensure the flow of nec- essary grants for closure and impeded trade, by stream- lining the grant application process and setting grants at the right level to cover costs. The Local Restrictions grant was a help – but a very small help! As we look to 2021 and the hope of rebuilding our busi- nesses there are two critical measures that government can take, that have wide- spread industry support and are popular with the public: extend the 100% business rates holiday into 2021/22 and extend the 5% VAT rate for tourism and hospitality until the end of 2021, not least to avoid a sudden 15% increase in prices for customers just as the season begins in spring 2021. We don’t want to be in the situation of asking for sup- port but the lockdowns and restrictions we have faced this year leave us with no option.

So important to remember SIR – Thank you so very much for printing in full Nick Saun- ders’ superb tribute to my late father, William (Bill) Clarke (Reflections, 27th November). Let us hope that tributes like this one to my father and others will encourage more people to say: “We will remem- ber them.” Once again, on behalf of myself and my brother Mi- chael Clarke, our very grateful thanks. William (Bill) Clarke (yes, my name is the same), New Milton Vaccination certification SIR – If like me you have travelled in Africa or even the Caribbean, you will have been required to have a certified vaccination for either yellow fever or cholera. We used to need one for smallpox, but through vaccina- tion and certification required for entry into these countries, this has been eradicated. I have a WHO international owner of two local hospitality businesses which have been seriously affected by the pandemic. The new tier system and their geographical coverage are a hammer blow for New Forest businesses, our local suppliers and the whole hos- pitality sector. Forecasts show that over the course of December the sector across the UK will be down a staggering £7.8bn in revenue compared to last year – a decline of 70%. The tiered system is dev- astating for us and we are at risk of moving up and down the tiers. In Tier 3 we would be limited to takeaway only – the same as in lockdown. In Tier 2, as we now find ourselves, we are severely re- stricted by not being allowed mixed households. In Tier 1 the curfew, even though extended slightly, and other measures mean we will trade well below normal levels. New Forest businesses may be able to trade their way out of this crisis, but to do so we need a government approach that:  allows our businesses to join the Christmas relaxation from 23rd-27th December – New Forest hospitality venues provide safer places to socialise than the majority of homes!  reconsiders the ban on indoor household mixing in Tier 2  reviews the tiers regularly across a range of measures to allow us to trade as freely as possible  lifts the curfew for Christ- mas and New Year’s Eve to

Margaret McCrea spotted this berry-picking blackbird in Langley. Send your photos to news@adt.press

pened to the land of Narnia because of the evil magic of the White Witch in C.S. Lewis’ story The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. And because of the coro- navirus pandemic, we could be justified in feeling that we shall have to endure a long, drawn-out winter with little celebration for Christmas. Presents, crackers, deco- rated trees, Christmas parties and Father Christmas himself will all be muted this year and, worst of all, there will be few family gatherings. However, all these tradi- tions that have grown up over the centuries have tended to obscure the real meaning of not give his name (Letters, 4th December) has taken and passed the IAM or Rospa ad- vanced driver test. It is not very courteous to older drivers who may be slow but are probably as experi- enced, or more so, than them. I give my name willingly. Ivor Evans, Milford What’s wrong with hats? SIR – I feel I must comment on the anonymous letter of 4th December (The shocking ‘Mil- ford driver’). There are some reasonable remarks – but why the reference to ‘hat wearing’ as being something bad? Chauffeurs, cab drivers, lorry drivers and military drivers in the past always wore hats. Why? To keep their eyes shad- ed from the sun. Racing drivers almost all had some form of peak, if they could. I know that many years ago I was advised to wear a hat with

rain (A&T, 11th September). What many people will find strange is that all sewage plants in this country are legal- ly allow to release raw sewage with associated chemicals into our river systems during heavy rainfall. Many of these sewage releas- es go undetected and end up in our seas and estuaries. As it is legal, this practice may have become a normal operational procedure. On 15th January 2021 par- liament will hear the second reading of Philip Dunne MP’s private members bill, the Sewage (Inland Water) Bill. This bill could help stop this pollution of our rivers. Unfortunately, private mem- bers bills usually fail if they are not backed by the government. If any of your readers think that we should have cleaner rivers and seas, then I would urge them to consider writ- ing to George Eustice, who is our secretary of state for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to ask him to support this bill. I think a letter carries more weight than an email because it takes a little more effort to write and send. I have received a very encouraging letter from my MP who has added his name to the growing list of sup- porting MPs. He believes “the bill is sound and long-overdue”. If this bill fails it will, in my opinion, be because of lack of knowledge and people thinking that they can’t make a differ- ence. If we are to have a quiet Christmas this year why not write a letter and help clean up our rivers? Peter Frost Vice-president, Friends of the New Forest Respect our older drivers SIR – I presume that the self-righteous driver who did

(A&T, 27th November) about Sally-Anne Miller’s accident with her event horse Girlie: “There were no offences.” Her horse, walking on Pitmore Lane, was hit from behind, causing emergency sur- gery with 12 staples for severe lacerations on its hindquarters! Would that not be an offence? I am a horse rider from a long time ago. I can imagine the pain and heartache Sally-Anne must be going through. I wish her and her beautiful mare a speedy recovery, and looking forward to many successful events. Karin Berrigan, Lymington SIR – Through your paper I would like to reach out to the kind Samaritan who paid my 87-year-old-mother’s grocery bill in Sainsbury’s Christchurch last week. Both her debit and credit cards were declined at the till and whilst the store man- agement were assisting her, I understand that a gentleman came over and paid her bill and left without leaving any contact details. That is unbelievably kind of him and helped my moth- er through a very stressful episode. Through this letter I would like to try to find this kind in- dividual and to reimburse him. Hopefully one of your readers will know who he is and will get in touch. Simon Marshall, Guildford Fighting for cleaner rivers SIR – Some weeks ago your newspaper highlighted the pollution of raw sewage in the Beaulieu River from the Lynd- hurst sewage works after heavy Thanks for paying bill

Christian Comment “ALWAYS winter and never Christmas!” That is what hap-

Internal Position 200H x 343W (7 columns)

Glynn Hamilton and Mrs G.E. Bromfield-Hamilton, Pennington

Horse crash not an offence? SIR – I could not believe some of the last words of the article

Mary Ann Jardine (lay preacher), Lymington United Re- formed Church

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