Your letters on Spalding traffic congestion, asylum seekers, honesty in Holbeach and Spalding remembrance
Here are the letters published in the Spalding Guardian of November 25, 2021...
Filter light would help ease congestion
I read with interest your article on traffic congestion compounded by a higher than usual number of trains passing through.
As a resident of Spalding for the last 16 years I have lost count of the times that I have been ‘stuck’ on St Thomas’ Road as the traffic on Winsover road backs up after the ever more frequent barrier down times.
Has anyone ever considered putting a left filter green light on the corner of Winsover Road and A151? This would do a great deal to help ease congestion.
Just a thought...
Russell Robson
Spalding
Why are we not just sending them back?
Day after day we are seeing countless boats crossing the English Channel full of mainly young men from the Middle East.
Over 20,000 this year alone and, I have to say, these are just the ones we know about! Countless more, I guess, are still arriving illegally by road.
It has always been my understanding that “refugees” fleeing war or persecution who are seeking asylum, should do so in the first “safe” country in which they arrive.
Given that, it would seem, the vast majority are crossing over to the UK from mainland Europe... am I to believe that Europe and France in particular is not “safe”?
Like Australia, we are an island. Australia turns so-called boat people straight around and sends them back to the likes of Indonesia etc from whence they came. Why oh why do we do not do the same? The word has long been out that the UK is a nice soft touch.
Worth shelling out £10,000 to people traffickers and risking your life to cross the Channel for all the milk and honey waiting at the other end! Three or four star hotels, free dental and health care on arrival, three cooked meals a day, pocket money each week... what’s not to like?
My question to our politicians and the Home Secretary in particular is... we are now out of the EU clutches so why oh why are we not just sending these “freeloaders” back to Europe from whence they are coming with the blessings, it would seem, of the French government?
I have been a Tory voter all my adult life but talking to friends, neighbours and family, I can honestly see a major resurgence in nationalist anger at this government for the abject failure to get a grip with this situation.
Mainstream political parties will pay a heavy price at the next election for underestimating the depth of anger over the immigration of all these “illegals” to this country!
Alan Meyern
via email
There are some honest, genuine people around
Having mislaid my bank card in Holbeach last week and not being able to locate it, I returned home to receive a call from the building society to inform me it was picked up in Holbeach High Street and posted through their letterbox.
I would like to express many thanks to the person who found it and took this action.
It goes without saying that there are honest and genuine humans around.
Mrs A Johnstone
Holbeach
Thanks to all who helped with service
The Spalding Branch of the Royal British Legion organised this year’s Remembrance Day Commemoration Service and other services held around the area on separate days, alongside the South Holland District Council, The Rotary and Ayscoughfee.
Traditionally the parade is held on the nearest Sunday to Armistice Day, attended by many regiments and organisations who could not wait to be part of this year’s service.
After the sombre time we had last year it was good to see so many back visiting the gardens in Ayscoughfee, attending the service on Sunday and the other services which we held in the Cemetery and Springfields to mark the 100th year of the Royal British Legion.
Dignitaries arrived ready to lay their wreaths for the fallen from their regiment and Rev John Bennett, Vicar of St Mary and St Nicolas Church, conducted all of the services we held in the area.
The Royal British Legion would like to thank everyone who came and played their part in allowing us to pay our respects to the men who fought and died for our freedom over the last 100 years.
This year, being so totally different, made it poignant to be at the service.
We would like to give special thanks to the Rev John Bennett, the Rt Hon Sir John Hayes, Coun Paul Redgate, chairman of South Holland District Council, for their help with these services and for going out of their way to welcome everyone.
Thanks once again to Jim Bright and his bugler and the wonderful cadets who played their part during the service.
Finally, to Steve Colby and his team from the Rotary who work so hard during and before the parade getting the roads closed and keeping South Holland safe.
If you would like to know more about next year, please do not hesitate to contact me jan@tulip-events.co.uk or call 07779895388.
Jan Whitbourn
via email
THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK Why has the world become obsessed with numbers?
I sometimes feel that our world today has become obsessed with numbers.
If you engage in any form of social media, I am sure you will check out how many ‘likes’ your latest post may have had, hoping that the numbers are high and seeing this as positive.
During the lockdown many churches, including my own, took their services online. This seemed a great way of keeping in touch with our existing church family and hopefully reaching out to our wider community too.
I would usually check the statistics to see how many people had watched and sometimes feel quietly smug if the ‘views’ appeared to reach more people than I would have expected to physically see if we had been able to open our doors and meet in person.
But I was being lulled into a false sense of security. Whilst this was a great stopgap, I had no idea how people were watching.
Were they were really focussing on worshipping our awesome God, or did they just have the service on in the background whilst doing the ironing?
Church is so much more than this; it is not the building, neither is it a service to just watch online unless this is your only option.
Church is a wonderful family of believers journeying together through every part of their lives – we are church, and we can be church anywhere and everywhere!
Jesus tells us in Matthews Gospel Matt 22: 37-40: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Simple isn’t it!
Now that our buildings are open once again it can be easy to get discouraged about the number of people attending – but this should not be our focus. Rather we should seek to emulate Mother Teresa’s words. “Never worry about numbers. Minister to one person at a time and start with the one closest.”
Pastor Sue Hensby
Sutton St James Baptist Church