Published in the Littlehampton Gazette March 14th. 2013

I HEAR that the Arun District Council is set to spend around eighty five thousand pounds on refurbishing their council chamber and meeting rooms. New doors, wallpaper, and of course, new chairs for their tired backsides. If true, it seems to me that the money would be better spent restoring our fading leisure facilities and would go some way in saving our cinema and the Maltravers grass tennis courts which appear to have been last mown by a plough! It could even help subsidise summer parking making the proposed parking fee heist even more unnecessary. It also seems to me that these councillors surely do know how, with one clumsy move after another, to win the hearts and minds of the local people…

FIRST FOX and badger and now a proposed deer cull! Where will it all end? Which poor animal is next? Buzzards, cormorants – both have been mooted? Seagulls, some find those to be a bit of a pain. Otters? Yes, some anglers are saying even the reintroduced otter is on the increase and needs kerbing. Water voles? Well they are becoming a danger, I nearly tripped over one of the pesky little critters in Arundel last weekend! Deer may well need to be ‘managed’ in certain areas and unlike the fox or the badger, they are good grub so ‘managed’ animals will not be wasted, but talk of a national cull is a far too drastic.

HERE BE A MYSTERY. Why do smokers puff away in their cars and then do the right thing by stubbing their fag ends out in their car’s ashtray and then, when said ashtray is full, draw up to the side of the road and empty the contents into the gutter or upon the grass verge? Having quite rightly resisted tossing them out of the vehicle’s window why not go the whole hog and empty them in a trash bin at home.

DO WE REALLY need another food outlet in LA? Morrisons in Surrey St. really is a supermarket too many and who could blame Sainsbury or Waitrose if they took umbrage and moved on? Now that really would be a loss to the town. And relocate the post office? Forget it, that has been there longer than I have!