Your Letters June 6
We welcome your letters - email them to observer@trbeckett.co.uk Please include your name and address if your letter is for publication.
Misery
HARDLY a day goes by without reading about someone being stabbed, raped, assaulted or murdered, which is very depressing.
So, I was drawn to a letter from H.W. Davidson (Observer May 23) complaining about people playing football and walking their dogs - all of which made it difficult for him to read his book or enjoy the flowers.
As I read on, I suddenly felt elated, when he went on to say his book perusal was rudely cut short when the football landed with force on his nose.
TONY MILES
Park Drive
Therapeutic
YOUR paper states that letters should not exceed 350 words but, no doubt, you pitied Cllr Springthorpe sufficiently to indulge him in his therapeutic rant. We must all hope that he feels better now that he's got it off his chest.
In listing the many evils produced by Labour, he omitted to include such things as droughts, plagues of locusts and bad weather on Bank Holidays. Despite this self-improsed restraint, though, he did say that Cllr. Birch, "...forgets to mention that it was his party that robbed millions of pensioners of their pensions."
Cllr. Sprinthorpe forgets to mention that it was his party that broke the link between pensions and earnings. No-one's memory is perfect, however. I expect he has forgotten his vituperative remarks, not so long ago, about his current leader, Cllr. Pragnell.
He also forgets that when there was a similar situation of a hung council a few years ago, with Labour then the largest party, Cllr. Birch did not insist that Labour should monopolise all the cabinet posts but allocated some to the Tories and Lib Dems.
But Cllr. Birch is a democrat, whereas Cllr. Springthorpe's imagery of locking Labour in the broom cupboard is very revealing. We all know about regimes where opponents are locked up.
J. WEBB
Linton Road
Dismal record
AFTER reading Cllr. Springthorpe's letter, I wonder whether his account of leaving the Tories strays somewhat from the truth, or are the Tories taking the first steps towards insanity?
The Tory record is dismal; when they first gained control, I thought they were awful but since then they have not been so good!
Was it right for the council to threaten so many of its staff with the sack? Was it right to spend so much money on experts to help organise parking in Central St Leonards when a little bit of common sense and taking advice from local residents and traders would have made more sense?
The council is going to review its parking charges. Why was this not thought through properly before? We still have not been told what has happened to the 250,000 which went missing from the parking meters - would it not make sense for the council's own staff to take this over?
Cllr. Springhorpe seems to dislike Cllr. Jeremy Birch about as much as his own Leader. I think this town owes a great debt to Cllr. Birch for what he has achieved for Hastings. After years of decline, the Labour Group turned this town around with exciting new projects.
As a Labour supporter, I have great pride in what our Labour councillors and our MP, Michael Foster, have done for Hastings but I fear for Hastings under a council which does not know where it is going and, worse still, has little idea of where it has been.
KEITH WOOD
Bohemia Road
Independent?
AS a councillor who rarely trespasses on your letters columns I hope you will allow me a relatively brief response to the very long and intemperate letter of Cllr Springthorpe.
As you, editor, correctly pointed out it is only a year ago that Cllr Springthorpe made 'the most astonishing attack on Tory leader Peter Pragnell', but it now seems his greater bile against the local Labour leadership has driven him back into the arms of his erstwhile colleagues. He attempts to square his handing the Conservatives a one-party Cabinet (which makes the key decisions of the council) with his claim to still being an Independent by saying that the Conservative party took a much larger share of the votes in the recent election. Actually, they took some seven per cent more than Labour and nowhere near a majority of votes overall and they now have 15 out of 32 council seats. How anybody, least of all an Independent, imagines this justifies that party having outright control is hard to fathom and it does the Conservatives no credit that they have connived at a shabby deal which, as well as giving them control, stifles all debate in Cabinet.
We now have a situation in which the fate of the Council has been determined by the whim of one so-called Independent who didn't even have to face the voters himself on May 1st. Whatever it was that the electorate voted for it wasn't that!
Cllr Dominic Sabetian
Braybrooke Ward
The dogs
I WAS disappointed to read about William Parker Sports College choosing to hold a Greyhound racing night to raise funds.
I feel that they could have chosen another way of raising funds that did not promote animal cruelty!
Thousands of greyhounds are killed each year in Britain alone, because they either do not make the grade for racing or they are too old to race anymore.
Although there are re-homing agencies, they can't possibly find homes for all the unwanted dogs; some are exported to Spain where they are used for coursing and treated terribly and suffer cruel deaths, as the people who have them are unwilling to pay for vets to put them down.
So I would ask that anyone who cares about animal welfare does not do anything to support the dog racing industry.
More information can be had from Animal Aid, The Old Chapel, Bradford St, Tonbridge, Kent, TN9 1AW.
MIKE TILBROOK
Priory Road
Road changes
AM I the only person in this borough who cannot see the point of two road alterations along the Grand Parade A259 on the junction with London Road?
It first started with the 100-yard or so bus lane which does nothing but hold up the cars when/if a bus comes along, even when the light in the bus lane shows red, the bus drivers move over into the main flow of the traffic to avoid the red light. This being pointless to have a bus lane even when the bus can only use 100-yards of it.
The second is the other side of the lights coming from the Marina end, there once was two lanes, one to turn left into London Road, the second to continue along the A259, it seems now someone in their great wisdom has decided to block the left hand turn lane so all traffic has to cram into the right lane before turning left onto London Road.
I noticed the amount of traffic queuing back to the Marina at around 10am, God knows what it's like at the peak when people are going into Hastings to work.
I got away from London because of all the stupid traffic regulations with one way traffic and controlled parking zones and TFN (Transport for London). It seems Hastings wants to follow suit.
MARK WHITLOCK
Bowrey Place
Arts centre
ARTS centre - who for? I am sure like me that the majority of "Hastings Residents" if asked would say, what do we need a arts centre for, and certainly not in the, "Hastings Old Town Area"
We are already going to get those dreaded humps in Rock-a-Nore Rd. that nobody wants ask the 6000 runners and Eric Hardwick, many others have voiced opinions also.
There are other ways to control speeding by enforcing the speed limits in place.
Has anybody checked or surveyed our town's residents for opinions, and more importantly those day trippers as they have always been known as, who on the whole arrive by coach, park on the Stade coach park and spend their day around Town Old and New? And what do they want first? More than likely a pee right next door, cup of tea and a bite to eat.
We are well served in both towns for refreshments and eateries, the choice caters for everyone.
I would say that the total spend from these lovely people far exeeds any revenue that would be generated from the proposed plan.
I have approached many visitors to our town mainly in restaurants, who not being aware of the plans for the Stade would think twice about a visit to Hastings with the loss of this very convenient facility. It's nice to know that your transport home will be where you left it. Legs may be aching a little bit, tired, the weather could have changed for the worst - not unknown in Hastings.
And to know that you can go back to your coach may be an hour or so early is very reassuring, not waiting at some drafty or wet bus stop. If that's the plan?
Hastings has something special to offer to our visitors, and I do not think it would be a Arts Centre well not on the Stade anyway, there are other sites which have been sugested, enhance what we already have and certainly get on with the improvements to the foot paths etc.
Most of the traders in this area are geered up for the day tripper, don't destroy it, work at it to improve what we have.
Robert E. Morgan
The Ridge
THE Jerwood Gallery, joined with the town and county councils, mounted Tthe Stade Exhibition over five days between May 12-17. I timed my visit to coincide with the middle of their consultants single four-hour stint to answer questions on Tuesday afternoon.
I was told the Jerwood consultant was not present, no mention of when he might return, and parking restrictions still applied, so my questions for the Jerwood Foundation went unanswered.
I mounted art exhibitions in Europe, I understand the pitfalls. What population demographics bring Jerwood to Hastings? Why must it be a free-site or nothing? Why place valuable works of art at risk from saline-humidity and sea-levels? Why not consider ample and worthy gallery space in the old Observer building? And what is meritorious about the gallery model, a tram-shed?
The council representative was helpful, but all options included the new Jerwood Gallery; there was no zero-option. So the deal is already struck by town and county councils? When I asked who now owns the site I got, "Trustees own the site"; an oxymoron, but a freudian slip. What say have the fishermen beneficiaries now?
One positive note. I thought the designs and models do show how The Stade might be sympathetically redeveloped, the gallery not too instrusive, but what do the fighermen and old towners think?
Yet I must ask, since this deal apparently is already struck by our local governments, why hold public consultations by absentee consultants? My unpublished letter on democracy and referenda is pertinent here. Politics became the IRAQ-10p option - WE IMPOSE!
MR KEITH PIGGOTT
Gillsman's Hill
Cycling sense
I WOULD like to make some comments on the council's attitude towards cycling. Cycling is green, it is good for your health, and for many of us, great fun. Hastings, however seems to have an attitude negative towards cycling.
Take Alexandra Park; it is a public park for the use of all the towns ratepayers. Or is it? NO CYCLING! makes no sense.
The roads adjacent to the park are extremely busy, the park offers a safe and pleasant route up through the town, so why ban cyclists completely?
Why can there not be common sense? If the park is busy, then cycling does conflict with pedestrians and most cyclists would not want to use this route. But, most of the time, the park is quiet, and there are choices of route to avoid other people.
Council... STOP using draconian measures to control ordinary people when common sense only needed to be used.
A lot of UK towns and MOST European towns can manage to allow cycles and pedestrians to use the same areas, why not Hastings.
AND invest more of the money we pay in rates to improve and add cycleways.
JENNY HILLS
Knoll Rise
Less popular
I WAS pleased that Cllr Richard Stevens won his Old Town seat, even if it ended up being by 'drawing lots' - at least the result meant one less Conservative on the council.
However, I often wonder, am I the only person in this town who remembers that Cllr Stevens used to be Labour? He was much, much more popular then - when it came to council elections, he didn't just win, he slaughtered the opposition! He became the first ever (at the time) Labour mayor that Hastings had ever had.
It is upsetting the way he now verbally attacks his former party, in some ways it grates that one of the best local Labour politicians we ever had, became a 'defector', a 'turncoat'. Maybe that is why people do not take him very seriously any more?
I wonder how long it will be before Cllr Stevens leaves the Lib Dems and joins the Tories?
MARK CALVER
Pevensey Road
M&S reunion
I WOULD like to remind all Marks and Spencer Staff of the 1950s and 1960s that another reunion is taking place on Wednesday June 25 at the Victoria Inn, Battle Road, St. Leonards, starting at 12.30pm. We will look forward to meeting you all again and also those who were unable to come along last time.
For further details, please contact Betty on 01424 754480 or Marilyn on 01424 427478.
BETTY SHOESMITH
Upper Glen Road
Corbiere home
Re: Corbiere Children's Home
I LEFT in 1975/1976. Has anybody any information regarding the Corbiere Children's Home? I would would like to hear from anyone with any news about this home. Please send c/o Bexhill Observer, Sackville Road.
MR LANE
Dorset
Football upset
AS a loyal supporter of Hastings United Football Club I am writing to say how upset I am at your editor's comments in his column on Friday in My word. Anyone who is into football especially the non league scene will realize that all players are only human and if other clubs are going to pay silly money for players or indeed for whatever reason then that is up to them. Hastings United though are sensibly living within their means and have got good players and indeed are attracting other players who want to play their football each week for United. You only need to and indeed I suggest you do read the statement on the club's supporters club forum under general chat dated May 29th to get a better picture.Too many clubs these days are indeed in debt and close to ruin and that is not good. You only need to remember a few years ago what happened to our own Hastings United then.
As a loyal supporter of the club I am very saddened to read that a big local organisation like yourselves is criticising the local football club for its lack of ambition when it should be getting behind the club and pushing for a new stadium by pushing the local council to move it forward. I think the least you could do is apologise to the supporters who feel let down by your comments. Come on let's get behind the club and give it good publicity.
S. D. WARNER
The Kestrels
St Leonards
Walters' reply
I REFER to your comments in last week's Observer regarding the club in general, and myself in particular. I demand an apology, a retraction and for this letter to be printed - all given a prominent position. Your comments are wrong, unjustified and damaging.
All football clubs lose players from time to time and these are replaced by new players. We are no different. I can't imagine you would happily accommodate your existing staff if they demanded two to three times their wage just to stay in your employ, particularly if this meant it would seriously affect your business and its continued wellbeing? As for your comments re the town needing a thriving club, consider this –
In my time at the club we have made advances on the pitch, being promoted to step three in the non league pyramid and consolidated that position last season. In my book this does not constitute 'struggling' as you put it.
We have done this by staying debt free and living within our means, as any sensible business should. Your colleague, Ken McEwan at the Eastbourne Herald, seems to have a firm grip on the non-league scene and the challenges facing Clubs – see his editorial Friday May 30, 2008 from which I quote "one only has to take a cursory glance up the road as far as Lewes and Crawley to see the turmoil experienced by letting expenditure get out of hand, particularly on player payments.
We have won 'sports club of the year' at the Hastings Achievers awards and were voted best business at the 1066 Enterprise awards in the 'hospitality, tourism & leisure' section, both over the last year.
I have recently secured a very good two-year main sponsorship deal with Smart Property Solutions and the commercial side generally improves year on year.
For the last 18 months I have been trying to get the club relocated to a new stadium which I am sure would help to realise and further our ambitions.
Perhaps you could explain how this lacks ambition and at the same time shed some light on what you have done to further this cause, which would also provide a great boost for the town in general?
We also have a thriving and successful youth section in which many youngsters are proud to represent the club and this is also now producing first team players. In fact when was the last time you came to watch us or requested an interview with me to go over your concerns?
A couple of other facts for you to consider – our average crowd increased by over 33% last season and income from advertising & sponsorship was up by 34% on the previous year. Many other clubs are struggling at present, including Lewes and Bognor Regis in Sussex, as well as Halifax, Boston and many others nationally.
More often than not, clubs stretch themselves too far in paying players' wages in a bid to 'advance'. When things go wrong, as they invariably do, it is the supporters who suffer.
You also printed two letters last week which were generally critical and yet a Mr Simon Warner, one of our supporters, informed me that he had sent a supportive letter to you which wasn't printed. Why was that? You also chose to highlight one of these letters the contents of which made very little sense and so I will not try and respond to that. The other letter was disappointing. He calls himself a long suffering supporter and yet, just over a year ago, we had a fantastic week gaining promotion as the culmination of a tremendous season. We followed that up by finishing 14th in the higher division. Did he expect us to go straight up again and how is that going 'backwards'? He also talks about an exodus of players being allowed to happen which is, of course, complete nonsense and explained above.
In future, if you wish to make comments about the club and me individually, will you have the good grace to discuss any concerns with me personally to allow you to get your facts correct.
D. WALTERS
Chairman, Hastings United F.C.
John will be good manager
I WAS astounded by the My Word column written by your editor Peter Lindsey in the Observer 30th May. I'm no football genius but I doubt whether Mr Lindsey is either! Players come and go all the time from football clubs don't they? He goes on to say the team will inevitably struggle and the town could do with a thriving club with ambitious plans. Who's to say the new players won't be better than those that have left? Thriving, well the crowds were good last season and the atmosphere livelier than the morgue the Pilot Field has been in the past. Ambitious plans, the Club are still speaking to the council about a new stadium I believe, does that not show the Club has ambition?
I also could not believe a letter from a G Aldridge. He obviously has a very short memory. He is a long-suffering supporter of Hastings United apparently. He must also be a man with a very short memory, was he not at Dover and then Tooting just over 12 months ago when the play off win saw United promoted?
I believe John Lambert will be a fantastic manager for United and I wish him and everyone at Hastings United success for 2008/9.
Mrs T DAVIS
Bexhill
'Drama queen'
CLLR. Matthew Beaver is in danger of becoming somewhat of a Drama Queen!
I do not, for one moment, believe that Cllr. Godfrey Daniel's comments were not meant to include the most vile and evil actions of Mugabe's regime. Hastings B.C. would be better described as, deaf to the needs of Hastings people and a disorganised rabble.
Cllr. Beaver should take notice of the work Cllr. Daniel has done in Braybrook and then should reflect on how little the Tories have done in his West St. Leonards Ward.
K.A. WORD
Bohemia Road,
St. Leonards
Editor's note: This came from a clash between Daniel and Beaver at Mayormaking - all very churlish really
Sonrise - misunderstanding
I WISH to correct a misunderstanding in a letter last week that said "it was Sonrise Church which welcomed the Rt. Reverend Wallace Benn to SMIC last year to deliver a sermon" and went on to call him "one of the most controversial figures in the Church of England". He did preach in SMIC but it was at my invitation and the only thing Sonrise Church did was to be generous enough to allow another church to use their premises.
The Rt. Reverend Wallace Benn is our local Bishop, the Bishop of Lewes, and is a great friend of this town, recently shown for instance by his vocal contribution in the 'Save the Conquest' campaign.
He was spending time in the towns of his episcopate last year, in what was called 'Walking the Way', and it was I, being a local Anglican clergyman, who asked him to preach in a service I organised at SMIC. Sonrise Church, of course, gave the go-ahead for the service but I am not even sure they knew the Bishop was preaching.
REV. NICHOLAS BURTON
By email
ASDA's strong track record
IN last week's Hastings Observer, regarding ASDAs' proposals for a new store in Silverhill, one resident expressed concern as to the type of jobs that the new ASDA store will bring to the area.
If approved, the new store will lead to the creation of around 300 new jobs, combining a mix of both part and full time, offering flexibility to our colleagues. ASDA recruits colleagues on the basis of their personal attitude and enthusiasm rather than qualifications. We provide training schemes and basic skills development, allowing all ASDA colleagues the opportunity to qualify for modern apprenticeships or NVQ Level Two.
We also encourage career progression and have succeeded in promoting an average of 15 shop floor colleagues into management roles every week since 2005. In addition, we are one of the biggest private sector employers of the over 50s in the UK.
ASDA also has a strong track record of entering into Local Employment Partnerships, which see ASDA working with Jobcentre Plus to ensure that the long term and recently unemployed are given the opportunity to work in ASDA stores and this has proved successful in places right across the country. We would seek to implement such a programme for our Silverhill store.
At both our public exhibition in June 2007 and our more recent open day last week, local people have already approached ASDA requesting information on how to apply for jobs in the new store.
We are committed to providing help and support to all our colleagues throughout their career with ASDA, and we are sure that the provision of 300 extra jobs will have a positive impact for the local community.
JONATHAN REFOY
Head of Property Communications, ASDA
Ore Festival success
I WOULD like to offer congratulations to the Ore Stage Festival, which took place last week.
I watched on the first day and was so impressed by the standard of performance in the younger age groups that I went back and watched the whole festival.
From the babies to the young adults, the performances were varied and interesting.
What struck me most was that the whole event ran like clockwork, from the music to the organisation; no mean achievement for a first time festival. Thanks are due to Miss Wendy Cameron, who took the bold step of deciding to put on the festival in the first place.
Her team of organisers and backstage helpers did an excellent job. I can only compare the four days to watching a swan; all grace and elegance above the water, but I'm sure the little legs were paddling like crazy underneath the surface.
The performances were adjudicated by Miss Molly Tanner, one of the most delightful adjudicators I have had the pleasure of watching, who was friendly and full of advice for the dancers.
The awards, donated by friends and ex-pupils of Miss Cameron, made a very impressive display.
Thanks are also due to Hillcrest School, who provided a splendid venue, with a lovely stage and a good sound system.
Conversations I overheard in the audience and in the refreshment area, from performers and their parents and teachers, confirm that I was not alone in finding this the most relaxed and friendly festival in the South East.
This was a reasonably-priced four days' entertainment that I hope to enjoy for many years to come.
MRS. DIANE BAKER
Rowan Close, St. Leonards
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Weather for Hastings
Sunday 27 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 22 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 13 C to 21 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: West
