Cyclists - protect yourselves

Dear Editor,

Is there any way, short of legislation, that we can persuade cyclist to make themselves visible on the roads? The nights are long and dark and cyclists seem to be of the opinion that motorists have superpowers. Sadly they do not and a bicycle with a tiny light or no light at all being ridden by someone dressed entirely in black cannot be seen.

Please could I beg cyclists, through your paper, to make themselves visible? Something as simple as a high vis jacket would be a huge help. Nowadays there is a additional hazard in the shape of electronic scooters with no lights at all.

Please all of you, protect yourselves and help drivers to keep you safe as well.

Julia Townsend-Rose, Cliddesden Road.

Children could have done better

Dear Editor,

It’s good to see that the road works are now completed but how could the planners not appreciate how difficult it can be to get out of the sliproad from Wickes on to Churchill Way West.

If they had relocated the lights for the pedestrian crossing it would have allowed those drivers an opportunity to pull out rather than run the risk of pulling out in front of (often) speeding drivers approaching the roundabout.

How is it that people get paid a salary to design traffic improvement schemes and this is an example of their work - and it’s not just one person who would have had the chance to realise, it would have been a whole team of planners. It’s a shocking waste of money. They’d have been better off asking school children.

Trevor Rose, South Ham Road.

Toast to the kind young gent

Dear Editor,

Thursday before Christmas crossing the New Road car park towards the town a boy, say ten years old, whizzed by on a scooter, leg propelled, not electric! He continued his rapid progress along the pavement and, with the pedestrian crossing lights holding the traffic, hurtled across the road to the other side. There an abrupt halt. A lady of some years clutching a walking frame had dropped her shopping bag spilling the contents onto the kerb and into the gutter. The boy stopped, replaced everything in her bag and then sped off on his obviously urgent mission. So a Christmas toast young gent.

C ‘Old Gent’ Williams , Frithmead Close.

Appalled by Cllr’s comments

Dear Editor,

I was shocked and appalled to read that the deputy mayor Cllr Onnalee Cubitt has likened the recent proposed changes to the council chamber as akin to Pol Pot’s “Year Zero”.

“Year Zero” of course is equated with one of the worst atrocities in human history resulting in the deaths of between 1.5 to two million people. At best this betrays an astonishing ignorance from the lady in question, and at worst is cavalier in its blatant disregard for the human lives lost, comparing as she does the change of décor to the destruction of a people, and a way of life by the Khmer Rouge.

I’m afraid its not the first time that Mrs Cubitt has caused offence, she declared on her twitter page during far right protests in London that a photo of a far right protester urinating next to the memorial of PC Keith Palmer was a “set up”, implying it was fake news. We don’t need another Trump clone in Basingstoke, certainly not one that wants to represent this great town as its mayor.

Simon Martin, Basingstoke.

Library staff who go above and beyond

Dear Editor,

Can I please take the opportunity of thanking the staff at Chineham Library for their valuable contribution in helping a lot of people (including me) cope with the current restrictions.

As we aren’t able to get out and about as much as usual, I have been reading more. It is now not practical to browse the shelves but Chineham Library have been providing a fantastic service in their “Ready Reads” service.

You tell them your preference, crime, family saga, history etc and then hey presto a few days later an e.mail pops into your Inbox and the books are ready for collection with minimal interaction.

The library has been closed and only open to those collecting. I’m sure I’m not the only one who has appreciated this very valuable and often forgotten service.

Chris Horton, Poplar Close, Sherfield on Loddon.

We are British - we can do it!

Dear Editor,

This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it! Four and a half years after the UK voted to leave the EU we finally have a deal. It may not be a perfect deal, there were always going to be a few compromises, but if Nigel Farage is happy with it then that’s good enough for me.

What with the huge roll out of vaccinations taking place,thereby bringing Covid under control, and now a welcome Brexit deal, we can look forward to a better, brighter future. We must put the past behind us and unite to make our now free, Sovereign Nation great again. We’re British. We can do it.

Gina Oxer, Pitman Close.

Are true Brexiteers ready for a fight?

Dear Editor,

Whilst I and many other Brexiteers welcome the fact that we have in name left the EU, the fact of the matter is that by agreeing a trade deal that sells our fishing rights down the river and keeps 80 per cent of our economy connected to EU rules, Boris Johnson has only gone and done the same as Theresa May but with some added spin and bluster.

It is not a free trade deal at all because we cannot trade on UK terms.

Therefore, by 80 per cent of UK businesses having to continue to comply with Brussels bureaucracy, Britain is not sovereign.

What disappoints me more is that Nigel Farage has given the thumbs up to the Boris sell out without having even read the text.

Maybe if we pay more attention to honours lists in the next couple of years we might get the true answer?

In the meantime, politically speaking, us true Brexiteers, are once again temporarily homeless.

Anyone ready to continue the fight?

I’m sure some of our sold out fishermen might.

As for my political love affair with Boris and his bunch of sell out traitors - it is over and a new chapter shall soon be beginning.

Watch this space!

We true Brexiteers shall not be moved.

Geoffrey Brooking, Saxley Court, Havant.

Update from Loddon Lions

Dear Editor,

On behalf of Loddon Valley Lions, we’d like to offer our thanks to all those in our community who have supported us so generously through this Christmas period. Thanks to your help, Loddon Valley Lions have managed to achieve so much.

During the past month, the contents for 96 Christmas hampers were purchased, assembled and delivered safely to the elderly and to people struggling to make ends meet. Christmas gifts were purchased, wrapped and delivered to a local refuge to ensure that all those there, being children or adult, would have a gift to open on Christmas day.

Zoom with Santa was launched enabling children to have conversations with Santa from the safety of their own homes. Santa managed to visit most of Tadley the surrounding villages over 19 nights in December on our amazing float.

This nearly did not happen as on the night before he was due to set off, we were informed that insurance to undertake this activity would be withdrawn unless the club had written permission from our local police force to do so.

We shall be eternally grateful to Hampshire Constabulary and in particular Basingstoke District for providing this so quickly and at the eleventh hour. We had to postpone the first date (1st Dec) due to lockdown & then on the rescheduled date of 23rd we had to miss out some roads as they had gone into tier 4

The joy on the faces of children as Santa visited their streets was something to behold. Families turned out in droves and maintained social distancing, happy, laughing, dancing to our very loud music and not just putting money in the buckets but donating online. Altogether, thanks to your generosity, we have managed to raise in the region of £6,000 which will be used to help those in need over the forthcoming year.

It’s an amazing amount, we had to cancel our usual Tadley Treacle Fair in June & the Fireworks Extravaganza in November so we have not been able to raise any funds, this will help us help others.

We are grateful to Ray Klatt, the butchers in Tadley and Wheel Game in Silchester who between them gifted meat vouchers that we were able to present to residents of a local sheltered accommodation complex and to Sainsbury’s Tadley for the donation of 100 of their large carrier bags to help with the hampers.

It’s been a tough year for everyone and we, the members of Loddon Valley Lions Club, would like to wish you all a Happy New Year and hope that 2021 brings us all good health and more family time.

If you’d like more information, visit loddonvalleylions.com where you can also donate.

Vanessa Tolson, Vice President Loddon Valley Lions