Your Letters
To the EditorThe shop is now church and more fun. The Church frets about buildings maintenance, facilities management and head office expenses. At the shop, hope, belief, neighbours, gossip and love abound. In the midst of the shop may be found God.
Richard Stewart-Liberty
The Lee
Ed. Does David Burgess know about this?
A riddle
To the Editor
What have the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania and The Lee got in common?
A clue: Translated from Swahili ‘Ngorongoro’ means ‘Big Hole’… Got it yet?
Whilst on a recent trip to the Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania – that’s in
deepest, darkest Africa and allegedly a “Third World” or “Developing” country
– our driver was mystified when I asked him to stop the car in order that
I could take a picture of the road. You see, even when I am on holiday thousands
of miles away from The Lee, I am still incensed by the appalling state of
our roads back home. How sad is THAT!The road in this African backwater was an immaculately surfaced, two-lane, modern road with pedestrian/cyclist lanes in both directions and I was unashamedly envious of the local road users.
Greg, our driver, was bemused by my choice of subject to photograph: namely a normal road, instead of the surrounding African bush and wildlife. I explained that I needed the photos to show our village ‘elders’ and local ‘chiefs’ what wonderful roads they have in Tanzania, in comparison to the dreadful roads we have in The Lee. He was incredulous!
The state of our roads is now beyond a joking matter. Cars are being driven along the centre of the road in order to avoid crumbling edges and ever deepening potholes. Cyclists are in real danger of being unseated whilst trying to negotiate their way along the absurdly dangerous so-called ‘cycle routes’. The road between Swan Bottom and St Leonards is a death-trap for motorists and cyclists alike; it resembles little more than an unmade track in places.
It is time that the roads are properly repaired before a tragedy takes place and somebody is seriously injured, or even killed. Shovelling a dollop of tarmac into the worst of the potholes is not good enough – they MUST be properly maintained or the council will find itself with blood on its hands.
Would our village ‘elders’ PLEASE put pressure on the local ‘chiefs’ to do something about the state of our roads? The unusually heavy snowfalls this winter have not helped the situation, but the condition of the roads was dire long before the inclement weather added to our misery.
Anthea Hartley
Lower Bassibones Farm
To the Editor
Lovely stuff – John Pearson of Chesham has taken a lot of trouble to avail himself of my invitation to spot any mistakes I made in my piece on Admiral Lord Howe.
My late husband, Chairman of Liberty & Co., mentioned Dixon jokingly as his first choice to paint the picture, knowing that he was dead. He might just as easily have said Canaletto or Turner!
He settled on Wilcox and everyone was thrilled with the commission. So, thank you Leslie Wilcox, you fulfilled our wishes and dreams with huge accomplishment and talent.
A wonderful and fitting tribute to Admiral Lord Howe.
Liz Stewart-Liberty
The Lee
To the Editor
Chris Ruttle’s article, ‘A Farming Life’ afforded merely a snapshot of the difficult and arduous time a modern farmer experiences. Try understanding and interpreting the colossal burden of paperwork a farmer receives daily, try coping with British weather, try worming 56 bullocks!
This is a superman and I am proud to say, he’s been with and part of my family for over 30 years. We all admire and respect Chris and Rita – they are an integral strand in the fabric of the village – and without Chris there would be no wonderful, cared for, productive farm. He is The Lee in my book.
Liz Stewart-Liberty
The Lee