New Milton Advertiser 29th Jan 2021

18 · Friday 29th January 2021

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Letters

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(HPHA) was established early in 2017 to preserve and protect Hythe Pier, train and associ- ated structures from further deterioration and develop it to be a real community feature. Registered as a community benefits society, HPHA has been very successful in staging fundraising events in the community. Although the Cov- id-19 epidemic has prevented these over the past 12 months, HPHA is still working hard to secure the necessary funding to fulfil its aims. HPHA has completed a makeover of the Hythe Pier entrance complete with new period signage, is in conjunc- tion with the (Hythe) Men’s Shed (at the Pier) currently restoring the first of the train carriages, and will shortly commence, as covered by your article, to secure the pier head buildings. Donations can be made via the HPHA website hythepierha .org.uk Alan Titheridge, Hythe Spray away the sack attacks SIR – There was yet another letter expressing the problem of birds and beasts ransacking the black waste sacks left out for the refuse collectors (Let- ters, 8th January). A few years ago I started spraying the sacks with cheap supermarket anti-bac cleaner, and also ensuring the sack was off the ground (by placing it on top of the recycling sack). Since then I have not had a sin- gle incident of a torn sack. SIR – Does Mr Fawkes (Let- ters, 22nd January) seriously believe that a Scottish trawl- er’s catch was rejected because of an easily-corrected hand- written error? Did he hear it on the Beeb or read a fable attributed to the Beeb? What makes Britain exceptional is Europhobic paranoia. I believe the BBC News report of French customs rejecting a consignment of fish because the haulier didn’t have a food-safety certificate, and very nice for the chickens and can cause health issues, but also every time the chickens lay their eggs they sit in the mess until you collect them. “You have to clean the mess to get the egg.” You don’t have to – you could just forget about the mess and grab the eggs. But over time the mess will pile up, your chickens will get ill, your eggs will not be very clean and nice to handle, and the chickens ultimately may slow down or stop laying. In life, we often want the egg (blessing) quickly and are unwilling to clear the mess and get our hands dirty. Our David Orme, New Milton Exceptional EU paranoia

no wonder. Johnson shrank the 335 days transition period to seven days commencing 25th January. Prohibiting unregulated food imports is not some EU perversion. Try taking a ham butty into Australia. Johnson meanwhile said his deal is free of non-tariff barriers. If he is not incompetent, what other explanation is there? Bienvenue à la soi-disant Brexit. H. Fletcher, Address supplied My very deer Forest friends SIR – I subscribe to several magazines dealing with conser- vation, countryside and field sports. Now and then I read about people who profess to be deer whisperers. This is a sub- ject I am acquainted with. I would like to start by say- ing red, fallow and sika are not compatible. I have just walked my dog off a lead through a herd of 20 sika deer and they just watched us go by from about 20 yards; it is safety in numbers. Roe deer and muntjac are left. The latter is very timid and you can’t get near them. Roe deer are approachable if you are a deer whisperer! I was involved with deer on a professional basis for 40 years. I had to control their numbers and took out in excess of 3,000, which I did not enjoy, being a lover of deer. I retired and started taking their photos instead of their lives. So I am now going to throw down the gauntlet and challenge any would-be deer whisperer to enter a wood in spring, find the territory of a roe buck and within six weeks be able to escort him round his territory, fraying the bushes and scraping the ground some- times so close you could touch him. The grand finale is to sit down beside him while he chews his cud. Just for the record a roe buck chews each mouthful 40 times, give or take one chew each side. Incidentally, in the last 10 years I have achieved this test with five different bucks, which is all on film. world is very “now!” driven; we want quick results, we want the blessing instantly, we don’t want to have to wait for it. The reality is you often have to clean the mess, and get your hands dirty, in order to get to the blessing of the egg. The bible tells us, in Genesis 29:20: “Jacob served (Laban-Rachels father) seven years to get Rachel (as his wife), but they seemed like only a few days to him be- cause of his love for her.” Be patient! Tom Rothwell, Senior pastor of New Life Church, New Milton Peter Whitfield, South Baddesley

Animal visibility must improve SIR – I see a growing number of communications about the deaths of Forest animals appearing in your letters column. instance. As the car in front passes that marker, you say to yourself: “Only a fool ig- nores the two-second rule.” If you pass that same

The sad loss of reasoned debate SIR – I am concerned that a GP sought to criticise Sir Desmond Swayne for raising a legitimate question in parliament (A&T, 15th January). I am worried, even frightened, for our liberty and freedom, because it seems that we can no longer engage in reasoned debate about the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic. At no time, as far as I am aware, has anyone failed to recognise, and indeed celebrate, the selfless professionalism and dedication of our front-line NHS staff. Nevertheless, at some point we will need to recognise that the slogan ‘Save the NHS’ betrays the real issue that every taxpayer pays for the NHS to save us. Sadly, it is clearly currently failing to do so for far too many of those suffering from cancer, stroke, heart attack or any disease other than Covid-19. Furthermore, there is the tragedy of government-enforced lockdowns causing devastation to millions of our citizens in lost livelihoods, businesses, and the stark reality of unemployment resulting in parents having to worry if they can put food on the table for their children. I wonder if the scientists, professional classes, and pensioners of our country who are persuaded that lockdown is the right way to handle the pandemic, and who work from home without any risk to their monthly salary or pension, are comfortable when they look in the mirror, when there is no sci- entific evidence that lockdowns work? Can they honestly justify this to be a reasonable price to pay for the certain damage to the health and wellbeing of our young adults, students, and school children, who are at virtually no risk from the dis- ease? Can they not remember what it was to be young? Where is the voice of the people who have had their Awareness is just as impor- tant if not more so. Here is a little tip for drivers to give them some idea of their level of simple awareness, or lack of it: tailgating. Take a marker, any marker, say a roadside sign, for Once again they concen- trate on pointing out the well-worn record about speed and awareness. Only one per- son, so far as I can see, has come up with an alternative to ear tagging and reflective collars: fluorescent hooves. Speeding is by and large a police matter, most involve the use of cameras of one type or another, and the effectiveness of some is questionable, as is the rate of enforcement. There are always those who will speed, regardless of cir- cumstances, but it does not mean that they are always the ones that are involved in these accidents.

lives destroyed in the hospital- ity, transport, and entertain- ment industries? What hope for young adults looking for work? Can anyone imagine the lasting damage inflicted on young children who are not taught to read and write or learn to socialise? Who speaks for them in the media? Captain Colin L. Seaman (rtd), Lymington To advise or not to advise... SIR – I read with interest the story detailing Dr John- ston’s dismay about Desmond Swayne’s comments about Covid-19 precautions (A&T, 15th January). I wonder if this is the same Desmond Swayne who, in one of his very rare replies to me, said: “I don’t give medical ad- vice” on 14th October last year. Jerry Fenner, Bransgore Weather helping the lockdown SIR – The government has been very fortunate during this recent lockdown in that the weather has been so foul with such freez- ing cold, snow, rain and winds. I suspect this is the real reason that so many people have obeyed the stay at home rules. As the weather warms, I doubt there will be such compli- ance and a sunny, warm Easter will be the real test. Perhaps that is why we may expect re- laxation of the rules just before then. Terry Langford, Milford No positives in Aldi approval SIR – We are in total agree- ment with Hilary Keene and R.H. Stones (Letters, 22nd but sadly they are rare)? Answer: they all want to be seen. So why are Forest animal owners reluctant to use methods of increasing the visibility of their charges? After all, it should be their duty of care. John Walsh, Address supplied marker in less time than it takes you to say that to yourself, you are following too close. So drop back and repeat the words until you can complete the sentence before you pass the marker. Repeat as required. It applies to all speeds. To those who shun the idea of increasing the visibility of animals, ask yourself this: why do workmen everywhere wear high-vis jackets? Why do sensible cyclists not only wear (sometimes) high-vis apparel, but have a flashing rear facing red light (some even have a white front light,

A yawning pony captured by Andrew Beaumont among the frost near Sway. Please send your photos to news@adt.press

January) concerning the plan- ning approval for Aldi to build a store on Caird Avenue. It seems that our pleas to refuse this permission have fall- en on deaf ears. Indeed those agreeing to this planning per- mission probably live nowhere near the site and therefore have no idea as to the disrup- tion, traffic and unhealthy atmosphere this supermarket and also the new housing site will bring. The siting of Tesco near resi- dential properties is more than enough to endure. There are no positive reasons in allowing Aldi to build in Caird Avenue unless Aldi have offered large incentives to our local council. The argument that previous supermarkets have failed in the high street is arguable, and dangling the carrot of extra employment can also be used by Aldi in the high street. A and J Pagett, New Milton Bridge promise was a sweetener SIR – So the neverending railway bridge saga rumbles on. My question: how could Redrow “promise” to build a bridge onto land they did not own? It was simply a sweetener (with the bird hide and bee garden) to get permission. If developers who breached their permission automatical- ly had any future application refused, they might be more inclined to comply. Brian Matthews, Lymington More eyesores than Shores SIR – Bravo, reader Brian Lou- don re his professional view of the development at Lymington

Shores (Letters, 22nd January) or Lymington Eyesores as I prefer to call it. He is supporting what I have said before: how could a developer be permitted to build such out-of-character dwellings in a lovely town like Lymington? And why would they want to? It is too late now but it should be a warning over fu- ture developments in the area. At least we have the Lyming- ton Society with us. Alan Powell, Brockenhurst Child benefit goes on children SIR – In response to George Page’s letter (Letters, 22nd January), the majority of par- ents spend the child benefit on our children, not that it is any of Mr Page’s business. I believe that there is a wider context the letter was address- ing which was missed and, as a result, the letter came across as judgemental, offensive and very out of touch. Without the internet it is very difficult to apply for jobs or keep in touch with children’s schools or work and usually the phone is the cheapest way to be online and the only internet in the home. As for the smoking, of the 7.28-million families in the UK receiving child benefit, some will be smokers but that is their choice. Sandy Negrescu, Pennington Sight problems of many drivers SIR – The current eyesight requirement for a UK driving licence is the ability to read a car number plate at a distance

of 20 metres. It is more than obvious that many New Milton car drivers would fail if having to retake the test. They are totally un- able to even read their speed- ometer at under one metre! Name and address supplied £2.5m cost of pier restoration SIR – Further to your article “Revamp for 130-year-old buildings” (A&T, 15th Jan- uary), the cost of restoring Hythe Pier, its buildings and its railway is considerably more than the £220,000 mentioned. The figure you quote is the original estimate for restoring the railway alone. The cost of the requisite work on the pier structure and buildings will be many times that, more likely in the region of £2.5m. Following the very real threat of the closure of the Hythe Ferry service towards the end of the previous year, the Hythe Pier Heritage Association

Christian Comment IN June last year, as a family we decided to get some chick- ens. We have wanted them for a long time and with the help

Internal Position 200H x 343W (7 columns)

of an experienced chicken owner, we purchased three Buff Sussex chickens. A weekly job is to clean out the chicken house and the run. It is pretty messy and smelly but, to be honest, quite enjoyable! When I was cleaning them out this last weekend, I was reflecting on the whole ex- perience of owning chickens, caring for them and getting the wonderful eggs. You see, if you don’t clean the house out it is firstly not

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