Your Letters - December 28

We welcome your letters - email them to [email protected] include your name and address if your letter is for publication.

Courteous town

IN this season of goodwill, I feel compelled to record my recent experiences having visited your charming town.

Not for the first time, I was the guest of two denizens of Bexhill-on-Sea. In their characteristic spirit of kindness, they chose not only to entertain me but to introduce me to a number of fellow residents.

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Indeed, I have experienced everything from charity walks to meditation; from witnessing the switching on of the Christmas lights to helping to clean and feed rabbits and guinea pigs!

Most particularly, I have had the opportunity to meet some of your readers, who, without exception, have proved charming, caring and courteous people.

If your town sets itself apart from its neighbours, it is by its residents who possess that rare quality of "goodness."

Long may your town flourish and progress for its deserves to do so - as do those who occupy it.

John Stanford

Church Road

Upper Norwood

London

Belt tightening

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WHILE struggling to tighten my belt following some Christmas excess, I am re-reading the report on the gloomy government settlement for Rother, (Observer, December 21).

At the same time the 'Important' recycling newspaper, a full colour, four page A3 romp through the latest recycling information waits to be, well, recycled!

Many flat-dwellers in Bexhill must have been irritated, to say the least, to receive this luxurious waste of thick paper delivered to their door when they have no means of recycling unless they carry it to a household recycling point.

Perhaps the cash shortfall in the latest government settlement would be more than covered by the cost of that newspaper and the study into how to ruin the West Parade.

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The reality of budgeting wisely to avoid financial difficulties in 2008 challenges all but the well-off, so in a way the decisions facing Rother district council are no different from those we all face.

Will they make some sensible resolutions to overcome the profligate waste of the past?

The New Year is one in which the electorate has a chance to 'pause for thought' about who they wish to make those decisions with their money from council tax.

Another record increase is on the cards, we are told, giving Rother the fastest growing council tax in East Sussex.

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Unless there is a by-election, 2009 is the next chance for change.

What happens in 2008 could be the deciding factor, but are 'New Year resolutions' somewhat out of fashion because most of us have forgotten them by January 2?

Will apathy continue to be the dominant party both locally and nationally when it comes to the vote?

With best wishes for the New Year,

Martyn Forster

Rother: St Michael's Ward

ESCC: East Bexhill Division

Conquest praise

MAY I through your paper offer praise to the Conquest Hospital.

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I have just returned home from a stay there with heart trouble, A and E CCU and James Ward.

The attention, care and cleanliness surpassed excellence.

Consultants, doctors, sisters, nurses, ancilliaries and volunteers were all most supportive and helpful in every way.

Until this short stay I had no idea what hard work nursing was, moving unoccupied beds, lockers and tables followed by sweeping, disinfecting and polishing after every move, taking samples, monitoring, dispensing drugs, constantly on the go for 12-hour shifts.

Exercising calmness, compassion and control with patients ranging from timid and confused to beligerent aggressive.

One can only gaze, marvel and wonder.

Well done, Conquest.

John Finch

Cooden Drive

Grammar reunion

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IT has been suggested to John Pratt and myself - both former pupils at the old Bexhill Grammar School - that it would be pleasant to meet up with other classmates. To this end, we are hoping to arrange a reunion of our friends who were at the Grammar School in the late 1940s or early 1950s and our ideas have already attracted the attention of friends currently living in the United States. The get-together has been suggested for early May next year and if there are any Old Grammarians interested, will you please drop me a line at my home address. Even if you are not interested in a reunion, I shall be pleased to hear from any classmate.

MAURICE ELGAR

550 Bexhill Road

St Leonards on Sea

East Sussex TN38 8AY

Lifestyle changes

AT World Cancer Research Fund we know it can sometimes be challenging to keep up good lifestyle habits. But being physically active, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables and maintaining a healthy weight are important for helping to prevent a number of diseases, including cancer.

To help us spread this message, we'd like to hear from anyone who has made positive changes to their diet or lifestyle. Perhaps you or someone you know, has been affected by cancer. Have you lost weight, or did you want to have a better quality of life?

Success stories like yours can provide the inspiration and motivation other people need to make the small changes that can make a big difference to their lives and cancer risk.

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Please get in touch by calling 0207 343 4205, emailing [email protected] or writing to the PR Department, 19 Harley Street, London W1G 9QJ. Your story can make a real difference.

LISA COONEY

Head of Education

World Cancer Research Fund

Drink policing

WHY is it that the drink-driving campaign is rammed down our throats at Christmas? Surely this should be an on-going campaign, shouldn't it? Victims, and their families, suffer throughout the year - not just at Christmas.

So, let's see more, random, road-side breath tests throughout the year and don't advertise which areas, or dates, they are likely to happen.

Steve O'Donnell

Endwell Road

New resolution

IF any of your young readers are thinking about making a New Year's resolution, why don't they decide to do something that can benefit others?

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I am passionate about young people reaching their full potential and volunteering is the perfect way to gain new skills, experience and meet new people. I love to volunteer between filming, giving talks in schools, helping out in charity shops and even running marathons.

A great way for young people to prove their potential and show they care about tackling local problems is to sign up to Agents4Change. This is a youth led campaign run by CSV and supported by Tesco and youth volunteering charity v, hoping to recruit over 12,000 volunteers aged between 16 and 25.

You can get involved by organising football tournaments for the homeless or putting on a sexual awareness fashion show or even making over the local youth centre.

So make your New Year's resolution to volunteer in 2008 and join in the Agents4Change campaign. Find out more at www.comcats.org.uk/agents4change

SHABANA BAKHSH

BBC One's Waterloo Road actress

c/o CSV, Pentonville Road

London

Elderly drivers

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RECENTLY it appears to have become a tradition to castigate elderly drivers. I would like to say a few words in their defence. I am a middle-aged driver with quite a number of miles under my belt and I have witnessed many hair-raising near misses. Very few were caused by elderly drivers!

The majority of elderly drivers DO NOT: tailgate, ignore speed restrictions, abuse other road users either verbally or with two-finger salutes, drive with their vehicle holding more passengers than it was designed for, drive when intoxicated.

They DO: act courteously to other road users - including younger drivers - who take such action as weakness or feeble-mindedness, have insurance and a valid road fund licence, look in their mirror before opening doors, look in their mirror when pulling out to overtake, use their indicators PROPERLY - young people seem to think the person behind is clairvoyant and knows exactly what they intend doing, or that indicators are a toy to be played with as and when the fancy overtakes them.

If I were to be driven anywhere I would much rather be driven by a 75-year-old than someone in his/her teens or early twenties.

NAME & ADDRESS SUPPLIED

Splendid shop

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NOW that we have a revival of handicrafts, I think it's worth a mention to those of you who do not visit Bexhill regularly, that we have a specialist wool/yarn shop right in the middle of town, in Parkhurst Road. Wa Waa's Wool 'n'Bits has now been open for three months and has the most amazing up-market patterns and fabulous yarns. If you would like to learn to knit or crochet, lessons are available and, for 1, you can have a cup of tea or coffee and a chat with Fran, the shop-owner, who will advise you on any products. This splendid shop is just two minutes from where I live, so no need to guess where I while away the hours!

D PEARSON

West Parade

Heart gifts

PLEASE consider the British Heart Foundation when receiving unwanted Christmas presents. The Bexhill branch of the fundraising committee is always in need of tombola and raffle prizes to help with fundraising. Please ring Jacky on 01424 222522 for collection. Many thanks.

Jacky Chrisp

Royston Gardens

Cheerful journey

Over the last few weeks I have had to make the tedious journey from Bexhill to the Conquest Hospital via Bexhill Road, Harley Shute Road and I would like to thank the homeowners who've made the journey much more bearable with their wonderful Christmas lights. Well done. Happy New Year to you all.

Jacky Dicksee

Cooden Drive