Hereford Times - 14th January 2016 - Page 30
Hereford Times - 14th January 2016 - Page 30
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| Date | 14/01/2016 |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Format | |
| Language | English |
| Area | Hereford Times |
| Collection Holder | |
| Date of Publication | 14th January 2016 |
| Transcription |
herefordtimescom Pause for. i .thought ’ leHARD FRlTH> BISHOP or HEREFORD lmost every news bulletin Agives reminders of the enormous number of vast global problems that there are: war. poverty, terrorism, climate change. You name it, it's a discourag— ing list, and it can make us feel powerless. So it was good to read last week that the village of Congresbury in Somerset has celebrated 800 random acts of kindness in the past year, one to mark each year since the parish church was founded. The 800 included a wide range, from delivering aid to refugees to painting public benches. The organiser of the scheme said, ‘lt didn't matter how small or large the act was. it was the fact that someone took the time to help another person.’ ‘Random acts of kindness’ may not in themselves solve the worldwide issues I listed above, but they do make a difference. William Blake wrote: ‘He who would do good to another must do it in minute particulars.‘ Blake continues: ‘General good is the plea of the scoun- drel, hypocrite and tlatterer, for art and science cannot exist but in minutely organised particulars.’ All sorts of minute particulars can find expression in random acts of kindness. Just a few minutes on the intemet led to accounts of such acts, like: at schoot, eating lunch with someone new; clean. ing the gym equipment after us- ing it; offering a couple of hours of free babysitting for parents; helping other shoppers; stop- ping negative conversations (that's a challenging onel). St Basil was a Greek bishop in the 4th century, who was par— ticularly known for his care of the poor and underprivileged. He said: 'A tree is known by its fruit; people by their deeds.’ A good deed is never lost; he who sows courtesy reaps friendship, and he who plants kindness gathers love.’ The more 1 have ‘heard about random acts of kindness, the more impressed I've become. What a difference a smile makes; how reassuring is a . friendly receptionist; how affirm— ing is a word of thanks or an unexpected gift. Random acts of kindness can dispei cynicism and counter negativity. What's not to like about them? The trouble with writing like {this is that l clearly have to try to live that myself. 30, l had better stop now and make mywfleacuportea, whether she wants one or not. Our libraries need support IT was refreshing to read in Hereford Times that at long ‘ last councillors are express- ing their support for library services within the county Under the 1964 Libraries and Museums Act, the council is obliged to fund libraries and museums; fail- ing to do so can lead to intervention by the Secretary for State. Hereford libraries are badly in need of an over- haul and services need to cater not only for the elder- ly, but for children of all ages. young adults and stu- dents. the disabled and indeed for all the popula- tion who are scattered in rural areas with poor and decreasing public trans port. Computer access is also important as much infor- mation can now only be found on-line. Many residents are disen- franchised because, either they have no access to a computer. Councillors are surely aware that this county has a low wage economy. Thus books do not feature on the shopping list if budg— ets are tight — all the more reason to provide good library and information services. We have just returned from six weeks in Australia where library services are far superior to those to be found in the UK. All the libraries that we visited were busy. which only goes to prove that if a good service is provided, it will be heavily used. Joan Williamson Madley, Herefordshire Thanks for donations ON behalf of Hereford Open Door committee I would like to thank the enormous generosity from many, many sources extend- ed to our Christmas food provision for our guests. The donations of food. toi— letries, confectionery bis» cuits, cakes and other goods was totally overwhelming. Donations were received from individuals, groups and societies and local busi— nesses. It enabled us to pro- vide for those who are homeless and those who otherwise would spend Christmas on their own. I would also like to sincere- ly thank the wonderful team of volunteers who unstintingly gave up part of their Christmas celebra- tions to service those less fortunate than themselves. MIKE WILKINSON Chairman Hereford Open Door .1. It’s a small world — again READING your story, Brief encounter on touring bus, Herejbrd Times, December 31. about the couple from Fownhope meeting another Heret‘ordian in South America reminded me of a situation I encountered a couple of years ago in the Philippines. We have an orphanage in Cebu. Philippines and one Sunday after Church I took the supervisor to lunch with the children. I was aware there was a group at a nearby table who were British but was unable to detect by the lady‘s accent where she was from. Curiosity got the better of me so as we were leaving I asked her. She said she doubted if I had ever heard of her home town. Try me I said. “I come from the county of Hereford, a place called Kington," she replied. I informed her I also came from Hereford, Moreton-on. Lugg in fact. They lady was the honor- ary consul for the UK gov ernment. I told her she did not have an Herefordian accent. Laughingly she replied she had to have speech lessons otherwise people wouldn‘t understand her. I left Hereford 48 years ago for Australia - every now and then I ‘come home’ to visit. David Evans Springwood, Queensland, Australia Rubbish cans everywhere TALK about litter and rub bish being dropped every- where. I don‘t think I could really believe what I was seeing along the footpath between The Old Bridge and Hunmderton, near the entrance to Asda, where there is a new seat. There must have been about 50 cans of assorted makes, as it had been raining so much what sort of persons sit out there causing a mess. This was on January 5, other people walking along the footpath cemented about it. Would a bin by there help? I don’t suppose it would. If ever these people are ever caught they should be made to go picking up rub- bish unpaid. MRS D M TREHERNE Bardolph Close Hereford Warning on PCSOS plan THE report that PCSOs are to train as firefighters, and .1. Thursday, January 14, 2016 THE HEREFORD TIMES readers'times 30 THE Green Party in Herefordshire has long argued for a significant improvement in rail ser— vices and integrated bus and rail services. Our public transport services in this region are under-funded, not in- tegrated and generally of poor quality and do not reach the quality stand- ards that are the norm for rural public transport in Switzerland or urban public transport in Ger- many, Austria and Swit- zerland. The residents of this re- gion have been asked to make suggestions to a rail franchise consultation for the West Midlands and we have responded with a clear list of what must be done to produce a long overdue upgrade of Transport system needs overhauling for the Birmingham city region as good as Berlin or Vienna with total in- tegration of high quality tram, bus and urban rail - to scrap H32 totally and reallocate the £50 bil— lion to projects both na- tionally and in the West Midlands. - rail services in the UK brought under full, pub- lic, democratic control. ~ An end to rip-off fare increases - An electrified line from Newport (South Wales) to Crewe - New rolling stock for the Marches line (New- port to Crewe) and elimi- nate overcrowding and increase bike carrying capacity - These stations to get a guaranteed hourly ser- vice on the Marches line: Shrewsbury - All stations on the Her- eford-Shrewsbury line to have bus services meet- ing trains as is the case in rural Switzerland. Herefordshire is one of the most rural and sparsely populated coun- ties, with among the low- est incomes in the coun- try and more than 25 per cent of people without a car. Bus services have been decimated, leaving many people isolated and un- able to reach work and education. It is essential that rail services are improved and fully integrated with the remaining buses ser— vices. Councillor Felicity rail services in this area: Hereford, Leominster, Norman We want: Ludlow, Craven Arms, Luston - An urban rail system Church Stretton, and North Herefordshire Councillor Bill Matthews’s could take them further a fire brigade. Although the comments on this, are inter- esting and, perhaps, contain an element of history repeating itself. Until 1941 the fire brigade in Hereford and its sur- roundings was provided by an inspector, a sergeant and some constables of the Hereford City Police. They operated two very basic fire tenders, one of which, “the county engine”, had been purchased jointly by several district councils to cover rural areas. So, while these police officers’ writs as con- stables ran out at the city boundary where the county constabulary took over, their duties as firemen much further afield. Fire brigades as an integral part of the police were quite common in larger cities such as Bristol and Liverpool, but Worcester City Police and the Shrewsbury Borough force also provided fire cover. Some police fire brigades operated an emergency ambulance service too. Faced with the increasing threat of war, central gov- ernment took an interest, for the first time outside the London County Council’s area, in the fire service and passed the 1938 Fire Brigades Act. This obliged local authorities to provide prospect of war hastened this act, it essentially cov- ered provision of a peace- time fire service and it rec- ognised the incompatibility of police officers undertak- ing firefighters’ duties and set out. to terminate the arrangement. The Act, how- ever, was overtaken by war and it took the “Blitz” to prove that incompatibility, with police fire brigades disappearing when the National Fire Service was established in August 1941. Are there any lessons here? Michael Smith Maldon Essex I‘M not really one for mak- ing New Year resolutions. If something’s worth resolving to do, my view is that there’s no point wait- ing until the end of the year to start doing it! Of course, January is the time when gyms flourish with new members eager to shed weight accumulated over Christmas. It’s equally traditional that these good intentions fade during the next couple of months. But there’s one resolution we could all make which would not just help our- selves, but would also bene- fit our hard working NHS staff — it would be to resolve that visits to A&E depart- ments are only made when necessary. _ Already this year our dedi- sated team of caring and TALKING POINT RICHARD BEEKEN Chief Executive, Wye Valley NHS Trust professional A&E staff at Hereford County Hospital have been working extremely hard coping with the many more patients turning up at this time of year. Each winter we experi— ence extra pressure on ser- vices — many of these peo- ple are in the right place as they are seriously ill or injured. And the colder weather affects many older people who can find they need urgent treatment and care. But please consider the alternatives instead of attending A&E. Pharmacists are experts in many aspects of healthcare and can offer adv-ice on a wide range of long-term conditions and common ill- nesses. Your local GP can assess, treat and manage a whole range of health problems — they also provide health education, give vaccina- tions and can carry out a range of simple surgical procedures. And the walk-in centre at Hereford’s Asda store can treat minor injuries and ill- nesses - great to go to if you can’t wait for your local GP surgery to open. You don’t need an appoint- ment and the centre is open outside of office hours. If you need more informa- tion visit nhs.uk/staywell |
| Newspaper name | Hereford Times |