New Milton Advertiser 9th Oct 2020

20 · Friday 9th October 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.

May I at the same time suggest that unattributed – “Name and address supplied” – letters are no longer accept- able. I have no wish to read letters from those who do not have the courage of their own convictions. I recognise that there may be circumstances in which it may be wise to withhold an address – but please, please give the name of all your correspond- ents! Aggravated manslaughter SIR – Re PC Andrew Harper’s killing in 2019, there are recent examples of a heinous crime just short of murder but where conviction for manslaughter is inadequate. Is there a case for a new offence of ‘aggravated man- slaughter’ to redress this omission? Ian Maiden, Beaulieu SIR – The new cycle racks in Brockenhurst village centre, right outside Tesco and further down the road, taking up val- uable parking spaces, are not used all of the time. And when they are, the racks that have always been in the village at a more suitable location, stand empty. The positioning of these racks is such a convenience for the fittest of people, yet an inconvenience for the most vunerable. I often take elderly peo- ple – not disabled – but who can’t walk very far, to do their shopping, and depending on the time of day, Tesco’s carpark is nearly always full. Also not all local people can Remove the village racks Ray Mayes, Norleywood

Psalm 71 says: In you, Lord, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame. In your righteousness, rescue me and deliver me; turn your ear to me and save me. Be my rock of refuge, to which I can always go; give the command to save me, for you are my rock and my fortress. Jesus Himself said: “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trou- ble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be trou- bled and do not be afraid” God never promises us an easy time, He never said that we would not struggle, be fearful, or be unwell, but He promises to be with us as we walk through difficult times, not just with us but within us. John Begbour habitat and the obsession of encouraging birds of prey. Don’t forget that gulls have been declared a protected species and they eat birds too. They also have to contend with crows, magpies and squir- rels. I fear that it won’t be long before we have lost many more birds due to the misplaced enthusiasm of so-called conser- vationists. Pat, I share your concern. Julia Gammon, Address supplied afford to pay to park every day so that we can shop in the village, and why should we. Name and address supplied The animal imbalance is in gardens, too SIR – Pat Woolley (Letters, 24th September) is certain- ly not alone in noticing that wildlife is suffering an imbal- ance due to raptors and other animals in the Forest. While I haven’t observed this in the Forest, I have to look no further than my own garden. We used to have dunnocks, wrens, goldfinches, blackbirds, nuthatches, woodpeckers and once even a pheasant visit it. At this time of the year the robin’s song would remind me of the coming winter, now there is not a single robin to be seen or heard, in fact, only pigeons, crows and seagulls come. Peregrine falcons have been encouraged to nest on the water tower. Conservationists like to kid us that the falcons only eat pigeons, but they eat anything they can catch. We have seen them carrying other birds back to their nest and twice they have come into my garden after birds. Our smaller birds are being decimated due to loss of

Appalled to lose local bank branch SIR – I am appalled to see that our local branch of TSB in Lymington is closing (A&T, 2nd October). For 60 years I banked with in strange circumstances cur- rently, but even before that there was always a long wait to be answered. No surprise then that many

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Lloyds Bank and then during the latter years when it was combined with TSB. Then I was compulsory trans- ferred to TSB when the two banks split because of some European ruling. I protested about this to no avail and became a member of TSB. However, I have to say that I have found the service with TSB exemplary, particularly in our Lymington branch where the staff were never too busy to help with queries and difficulties. Despite my original pro- testations about my move from Lloyds, I became a total convert to TSB. TSB may not realise that many of its customers in Lymington and probably elsewhere are elderly and thus not totally computer literate or internet wise and therefore online banking do not necessarily come easily to many of them. Therefore the bank as a reference point and as an assistance and advisory centre is very important to them. TSB will say doubtless that customers can always ring up on its helpline – has it any idea how long it takes to get through? Admittedly we are Sewage plan is unacceptable SIR – As a Sopley parishion- er, I write with regard to your recent article concerning the proposed Vernon Dene sewage treatment discharge scheme into Sopley Brook (A&T, 2nd October). Let’s just park the fact that we’re talking about the discharge of secondary treated sewage for a moment, and consider the capacity of Sopley Brook. I know of several properties in Sopley, both private and commercial, who are severely affected in a very direct way as a result of Sopley Brook flooding. These events are not one- offs, they occur regularly, every year without fail, and they highlight just how easily overloaded Sopley Brook can become in a matter of hours. There are no flood defenc- es, there are no preventative measures. These properties just flood for as long as the brook stays high, sometimes for several days at a time. So the addition of 54 cubic metres of anything a day into Sopley Brook can only cause further misery and disruption for those affected. Now let’s add back into the equation the fact that we are talking about the addition of 54 cubic metres of “secondary treated sewage” per day. I’m not sure what “secondary treated sewage” means but, whatever it is, I wouldn’t want it on my kitchen floor nor in my local pub. This proposal is simply un-

customers find it easier to call in at the local branch to resolve issues and receive advice. TSB will also say that customers may use the post office. It should be aware, I hope, that many, many rural post offices have closed and those that are open attract huge queues – this was never the case inside our local TSB branch. If you visit the TSB web- site, it will tell you where the nearest branches are for you when your local branch has closed. Type in Lymington and you will get Boscombe and Southampton, both a fair bus ride and car journey away and also the wonderful suggestion of Newport, only a mere 14 miles away according to TSB – completely ignoring the fact that you would incur probably a £140 ferry fare! It is sad that TSB, which appeared to be a small bank which cared for its customers and particularly for its elderly customers, has seen fit to abandon them. I expect many, probably including myself, will wish to transfer our accounts elsewhere. acceptable, and I believe that the developers of Vernon Dene Caravan Park need to urgently think of an alternative solution. I believe that local author- ity planners have allowed the Vernon Dene development to creep up on Sopley parish- ioners without control, and I would look to them to make absolutely certain that we suffer no further detrimental effects as a result of this devel- opment. John Eccles, Bransgore Liberation of single mothers SIR – Please could Mr Davey of Barton fast forward into the 21st century (Letters, 2nd October)? When I was a young teach- er in the 1960s my salary was less than two-thirds of that enjoyed by my male colleagues. My local bank manager was reluctant to allow me my own current account. A single woman could not get a mortgage and any woman who attempted to be inde- pendent was condemned as a spinster left on the shelf. Any woman who chose to have a child out of wedlock was seen as a victim or a moral degen- erate. Mr Davey may see and pity unfortunate single mothers on TV news who are dependent on benefits. However, he should realise there are many, many more professional independent women who chose to be single mothers, unbeholden to any man for support. That they can opt for this Michael Robjohn, Boldre

GrahamWiffen captured this sunrise over Longslade Bottom. Please send your photos to ne ws@adt.press

life choice is down to decades of struggle for equal pay and equal treatment by financial institutions. It does signify achievement and progress, but more the liberation of women. We are neither chattels nor second class citizens, as we once were, and I for one cele- brate the courage and fortitude of those who brought us to this equality, gave us choice and freed us from such subjective judgement. J. E. Gallagher, Address supplied A Highcliffe plan for Lymington? SIR – We note with interest and approval plans for the transfor- mation of Highcliffe high street into a pedestrian-friendly envi- ronment with pavement cafes, a new zebra crossing and a 20mph speed limit (A&T, 25th September). Highcliffe seeks to “remove the dominance” of vehicles in its centre. Hats off to Highcliffe and good luck! In Lymington, the Bottom of Town Campaign has raised similar proposals for the lower part of the town and got a comprehensive “no” from Hampshire County Council. The nasty junction at the bottom of High Street where thousands of pedestrians cross daily to and from the quay without any facility is the most glaring example of a location where the dominance of motor vehicles should come second to the needs of people on foot and using mobility scooters etc. Inspired by Highcliffe’s example, we shall redouble our efforts for Lymington. We request citizens to lobby their elected representatives. Jon Ellis, Chair of the Bottom of Town Insanity of lane one-way change SIR – The news that Vaggs Lane is to be one-way in a south-westerly direction (A&T, Campaign, Lymington

2nd October) is completely insane, and typical of the trans- portation section of Hampshire County Council under the incompetent Cllr Rob Humby. So now drivers will have to use Ashley Common Road, and what a disaster this road has become. Until we have a really serious accident on it no changes will be made. Councils’ decision-making, whether local, district or coun- ty, is not made on the basis of ‘cause and effect’ – that is, that any decision (cause) has an effect either good or bad. The basis of closing two-way traffic on Vaggs Lane has very little merit. In fact, disaster looms. I will be lobbying our MP, Sir Desmond Swayne, immedi- ately. When life was slower... SIR – I have always lived in the New Forest area and still remember when the A31 and A35 were not fenced off, when life was a lot slower. I wonder if any reader can remember when there were not cattlegrids upon leaving/ entering the actual New Forest. Were there simply gates we had to open and shut? I have a feeling I can recall my father having to stop the car and get out and open/shut gates. I have lived in my road longer than anyone else now here. I do wonder how many people in my village still live in the home they were born in. As a family, we have been around the local area for centuries. Richard Grant, Burley Don’t forget the cats SIR – John Jubb’s letter in your 2nd October edition makes a valid point but misses one enormous ‘elephant’ in the corner of the room: the RSPB also puts songbirds at the top of the feeding list for domestic cats. D. M. Brown New Milton

The RSPB estimate that domestic cats kill 100-million ‘prey items’ each year of which 27-million (yes, million) are songbirds – and that is a con- servative estimate. The RSPB states that even this enormous number of song- bird deaths does not affect the songbird population adversely. Perhaps we can agree to allow the goshawks their 12,000 birds from the New Forest, most of which would probably have been predated by a cat otherwise. Name and address supplied Have courage to give your name SIR – I agree with Bruce Rose (Letters, 25th September) in his plea for correspondents to write shorter and less verbose letters.

Christian Comment LOOKING out of my window as I write this article I can see and sense the changing of the season. Summer is reluctantly saying goodbye and autumn is its decaying replacement. Whilst autumn can be many people’s favourite season, to me it’s a reminder that winter is coming and darkness is terms of Covid-19 deaths and the economy. In other parts of the nation families are forbidden to mix indoors and businesses are being forced to close. We will need to once again look to our heroes in the

health and social care sectors to help us survive the com- ing months. Hopefully once we get to the other side of a vaccine we will, as a world, reflect upon humanity’s stain on nature, each other and become resolute in our desire to be kinder, gentler and com- passionate. But what do we do now? I recommend reading the Psalms. They were written in a different era under different circumstances yet they are so relevant to our daily lives in good times and bad. For example, Psalm 57 says: Have mercy on me, my God, have mercy on me, for in you I take refuge. I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings until the disaster has passed.

hovering over the land like a foreboding ogre, giving us a taste of the season to come. This year has already been difficult. The sunshine has made it slightly more beara- ble but there is now a sense of weariness and tiredness in the faces of the people that I encounter. Watching the news this morning I discover that the world’s most powerful man has contracted Covid and has had to enter a period of isolation. It seems that there is little light at the end of the tunnel. It seems from the briefings from the science world and the government that we are in for a difficult few months in

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