Dead dog days and dancing daffodils
1March 16, 2017 by Whispering Smith
The Whispering Smith column published in theLittlehampton Gazette March 9th. 2017
Dead dog days and dancing daffodils
In company with thousands of other likeminded folk, I recently signed a petition calling upon parliament for stiffer sentencing of those convicted of animal cruelty and dog fighting. Impetus was given to this just and proper public call by the revelation of such a crime and subsequent guilty verdict handed down to two Yorkshiremen for the brutal act of driving a nail through a dog’s head and burying it alive in a shallow grave. The animal was discovered by passers-by who took it to a vet where it was put out of its obvious misery. The two men admitted the offence, the reason given was that the dog was old and smelly, and were later jailed for four months and banned from ever keeping animals again, the maximum punishment available. Retribution enough? I don’t believe so. The petition for a review went before parliament but before it could be debated an anonymous member called ‘Object’ and the debate and the petition were passed over. I ask you, is it right that one anonymous MP, too ashamed – or too scared – to be named, should go against the will of thousands? Democracy? Words, for once, fail me.
LOBS Wood, a happy place for dogs and walkers, is again alive with daffodils but I notice fewer snowdrops this year. Birds are already exploring the new and old bird boxes and volunteers spent a Saturday morning spreading wood chips across the pathways. Not long now before the whole area is once again alive with the perfumes and sounds of the very real spring. Our little public garden in Western Road is alive with blooms, as well as bottles and beer cans thoughtlessly thrown over the railings and awaiting a daily clearance. Again, words fail me!
TIME now to choose a movie for Screen on The Green, surely it should be a singalong musical and I reckon Oklahoma or Calamity Jane would fill that bill nicely!
Photograph Lobs Wood
Whispering Smith 
Yes, Lobs Wood is a sight for sore eyes and improves with every passing year. The paths were rendered ‘less muddy’ by a young man with learning difficulties, working unsupervised.
Yesterday, in total innocence, we entered Mewsbrook Park and stood transfixed: What on Earth had happened to that wonderful row of trees? Those trees made a difference to Mewsbrook’s climate – holding back the prevailing westerly winds. Probably planted years ago by a farmer who would not live long enough to see those trees in their full glory.
Could we estimate their value – I doubt it – and planted in an age where young trees would be respected and cared for.
Elsewhere in Littlehampton a similar row of Poplars protected an area where tomatoes used to be grown. They too were felled, the land then built upon. Today we have an estate called – ‘The Poplars’!
Where are we going?