Readers Letters Olney Seat Belt Run
T. Stanbridge
Ron, David and yourself have nothing to apologise for.
The ridiculous "Olney Seat Belt Run" that takes place regularly in Olney High Street during early morning rush hour is a pathetic waste of Police time.
You can spout all the statistics you like, but anyone with an ounce of common sense knows that this circus, on its own, is not going to save a single life or serious injury. It simply gives the public a feeling of betrayal in return for being law-abiding and willing to help the police when asked.
The real (and perhaps most hilarious) problem, apart from employing officers whose time would be better spent elsewhere, is the fact that the very obvious plain clothes officer lurking at Brocks, who radios ahead to his colleagues, seems to be enjoying his job too much. Didn't he get anything else for Christmas to play with?
Free Press
Fiona Youlton
At first, I assumed pages 54/55 were part of the annual April Fool joke, usually so well done by the Phonebox. However, it appears that Commander Barry Halliday's strop is for real. I find it somewhat pathetic that a grown man in such a senior position can't take some constructive criticism, delivered with tongue in cheek humour, without throwing his dummy out of the pram. Of course, he is absolutely entitled to express an opinion (the words "free press" are the clue here), but he is not entitled to ask for a retraction of someone else's opinions. Well done Davod Pibwith for the editorial note and to David Pibworth for his "abject" apology - beautifully done. As he said - "Power to the People"!
Kerfuffle
Richard Meredith
Ron; I have just read the April Phonebox. What a kerfuffle over David Pibworth's piece - and what a distinctly stuffy reaction from the LPA Commander, who evidently cannot differentiate between an OpEd (comment) column and a Factual (news) story. Even so, and despite lacking in any apparent sense of humour, he is as entitled to a view as I am. Your editorial decision to publish his response speaks volumes for your fairness.
From my perspective, it was also good to read your support for the IPSO proposal of editorial standards, rather than the Government's call for more draconian measures. A free press is one of the few ways in which wrong-doing can still be called to account; and that goes for police officers as well as the media itself. Disappointingly - but quite correctly - both have found themselves in the spotlight all too frequently in recent days, as no doubt even the myopic Commander is painfully aware.
Keep wearing that Editor's eyeshade and all power to your elbow!
Pancake Race 1950 and Traffic Lights at Station Road, Newport Pagnell
30 Phonebox Magazine
In the April Phonebox on page 48, you mention that the Daybreak programme on ITV showed a short clip from the first International Pancake race in 1950, which was won by Florence Callow (now Mynard).
Florence is my mother. My wife was lucky enough to see and record the short clip shown by Daybreak.
Since it had been shown on ITV, I made contact and they very kindly sent me the complete Pathe News film, firstly as an attachment, then on a plain DVD. I do not have the technology to copy the attachment to a disc and my computer will not allow me to attach the file to this email (exceeding attachment limit).
My mum is now 83 years old and not in the best of health following a fall. She has now seen the film for the first time and it bought back so many memories, particularly the man on a bike, with what looks like a microphone in his hand. He
Doug Mynard
noticed mum had started to slow down because she could not see the other competitors, and told her to keep on running!
Traffic Lights at Station Road,
Newport Pagnell
Approximately three copies ago, and under the name of "Dougall", I reported the problems being experienced at the Station Road traffic lights. In the following copy, this was echoed by someone else who has also experienced the same frustrations and near misses. I forwarded my email to the local Lib-Dern candidate who stated he couldn't see a problem.
Well, I am pleased to report that the light sequence has been changed, the delay is now very short and, sometimes, if you drive very slowly towards the lights, they are on green as you reach them. Result!
Thank you Phonebox! Good job done!
I write in reply to the article published in your April issue of Phone Box concerning the proposed solar farm at Hanslope.
The Daily Mail brigade seem to be besotted with solar farms. Don't get me wrong, they are part of the answer and I even have some black solar panels on my own house roof which blend in beautifully. From my experience, I can assure you that they don't produce any power on a cloudy day and sometimes a week goes by without a 'free' boil of the kettle. When we all need power for lights, heating and cooking on a winter's evening, solar panels are definitely not the answer.
The land that panels smother cannot be used for farming as livestock have been known to damage the panels and, of course, it's no good growing any crop in the shade. In fact, the grass
Earls Barton Rally
Pat Conroy
Organisation is going well for the Earls Barton Rally on the August Bank Holiday 2014 at Whites Nurseries.In additionto the GallopingAcrobatics, we will have quad bikes and a Punch and Judy show, as well as the usual attractions. We hope that this year will be even better than previous events. All the committee are totally dedicated to making our event as happy and enjoyable as possible, for both exhibitors and the public. Penny Smith has now taken over the steward's rota and will be doing the advertising for the programme, so she will be in touch with our regulars in the near future. If anyone is interested in helping with the event or advertising in the programme, contact Penny on:
(01933) 664730 or 07890 260 634
You can also contact me on (01933) 663454 if you need anymore information.
Green energy enthusiast
area between the panels is mown by a machine using fossil fuel. Thousands of acres of valuable land are being lost for solar panels at a time we need to be increasing food production to feed a rapidly growing population.
At least with a wind farm, for example, turbines can produce every day and night, rain or shine, and only a small proportion of the land beneath them cannot be farmed. It's about time our politicians stopped listening to the nimby minority and took more notice of the silent majority, who understand that there is a need for green energy of all kinds, not just fields and fields covered with solar panels. Perhaps a better place for panels would be on the roofs of the vast industrial units we have in Milton Keynes, rather than valuable agricultural land in Hanslope?
An Open letter
to the Trustees of the Emberton United Charity Gerald Mann, Rosemary Towers, Sue Soul, Warwick Clarke, Andy Harris and Gary Evans
David Trend
It is clear that, with almost a hundred people signing the online petition so far and the support of the Olney Town council, that there is a significant number of local people who wish you would unlock the gate to the Splashpole Path leading to the weir.
Therefore, I respectfully ask that you reconsider this request. If it would be helpful, Steve Clark the Mayor, Ron Hall the proprietor of the Phonebox and myself are, subject to date, prepared to attend your meeting to discuss the issue.
Going Green