Whispering Smith Column published in the Littlehampton Gazette on May 15th 2014

I CALL IT AS I see it and I do not find the new bandstand unattractive. The white structure set against the new green grass is quite refreshing in a way but it is not ‘iconic’, a word used around four times by the Littlehampton Town Mayor Cllr Joyce Bowyer at the opening ceremony. Iconic status has to be earned and only time will tell if the new Stage by the Sea is, indeed, iconic or not. Certainly though, the shelter side is not really fit for purpose and will give little or no shelter at all when really needed against the prevailing south-westerly winds. Proof of the pudding, as they say, will be in the usage of the stage throughout the summer and considerable usage will be required to justify the construction fee that will be well in excess of £100k. No hire fee but also no electricity on site so a generator will be required and, I should imagine, that fee together with various insurances will incur a cost which may well be beyond the casual user. Contact Arun District Council for details.

MY SON has just departed for a four week trip to the USA and I started to worry about him the moment his flight left Gatwick and I am not sure why. He has survived in Brighton for many years and has been to the USA before but still I worry. Out of contact? Not in this day and age, so it has to be something from my end. I worried about my daughter recently (who survives quite happily in London) when she went off to Iceland – my thinking immediately turning to volcanoes. My son tells me he will be as safe in downtown Seattle as I am walking the late night streets of Littlehampton which is hardly reassuring. My feeling is that the worry has much to do with my own vulnerability as it is with theirs and both are now way beyond my protection and they will thrive as I have done and so, reassured, I turn my thoughts once again to the day to day problems such as the seagull which still persists on pecking at my friend’s patio door every morning; where do young men buy baseball caps with peaks at the back; why are their trousers are always falling down although they wear belts and why do I never get tired of sleeping?