Why can’t people wear face coverings?

Facemasked on boarding, I took the X4 bus into Reading on Sunday, August 2. The requirement to wear a facemask on public transport has been in force since 15 June – well over six weeks – plenty of time to get used to it.

The passenger across the aisle from me was on her mobile phone – face mask pulled down – exposing her mouth and nose. Why?

A boarding passenger — an elderly (i.e. my age) lady – was swinging her face mask in her hand and had to be reminded by the driver that she was supposed to be WEARING it. She clearly had a very casual attitude towards hygiene as I spotted her later with her feet (her shoes possibly laden with dog faeces, urine and other noxious matter) up on the opposite seat. Why?

Next, a boarding passenger had no face mask. “I forgot it”. The driver reminded him that face masks had been mandatory on public transport for ages and informed him of the potential fine – but he was allowed to travel. Why?

What is wrong with these people? These precautions are in place to keep us all safer. Do we want to be on lockdown again like non-compliant residents of the North West?

It’s about time that we, the most vulnerable members of society, the over 50s – 34% of the population – started to punch our weight and challenge these halfwits putting us at increased risk.

n Back to school for someone at NatWest – the greengrocer’s apostrophe rears its ugly head again. I hope that it’s not the manager who has exposed him/herself to ridicule.

Michael Storey, Wokingham

Welcome back

The team at the Blue Cross charity shop at Market Place in Wokingham is delighted to have now reopened since lockdown and we look forward to welcoming back our loyal customers.

For those who have items they wish to donate we ask they follow our simple checklist and do not leave bags on our doorsteps or be offended if we cannot take in pre-loved items that day.

Please try and only donate items that are resellable. If you can clean items before donating it would be super – although we are also quarantining each item for 72 hours before being offered for sale.

Contact the shop before bringing your items to us and if you have a large donation please bring it to us bit by bit as storage is limited.

Please remember to Gift Aid your donation if eligible as it really helps boost our income which means we can help more pets in need.

Finally, don’t forget to wear a face covering when coming into the shop.

Thank you for your continued support and we look forward to seeing you soon.

Jaye Cook, Shop Manager, Blue Cross, 17 Market Place, Wokingham

A quick fix

I had hoped to take advantage of the Government’s recently announced £50 cycle voucher initiative for the purpose of refurbishing my rusty old boneshaker that I enjoyed riding in my younger days.

Looking forward in breathless anticipation to donning my leopard skin lyrca to thrill on lookers while in the process maintaining my manly, god-like figure and help save the planet, alas, as with so many other Westminster websites I discovered it had crashed almost as soon as it opened.

What to do?

Jump back in the car?

Make use of some other air-polluting form of transport? Or simply take up the time honoured use of Shanks’s pony?

On the other hand, should I perhaps resort to Plan B: Remain in lockdown, settle down in a comfortable armchair, stock up with a few cans of brown ale, a large bag of ready salted crisps, a packet of chocolate hobnobs and continue watching repeated repeats of repeated repeats and a spirit lifting selection of funeral plan ads on the telly?

JW Blaney, Wokingham

Beirut – we are thinking of you

Being a ‘nagger’ is not really an enjoyable role in life, but in my defence it is that I care about our society, our country, and what we stand for.

I constantly look for something good, others who care, who ‘put themselves out’ without reward to help society, encouraging the rest of us to rejoice that caring is not a total lost cause. In a world where politicians, dictators, the greedy, and the endemic corruption around us, are doing their best to ruin the world.

Having been alive when Atomic Bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki ( I was 10 years of age); witnessed the Middle East’s terrible state of so many people and children; then the Grenfell Tower fire, I add a new crisis to that overloaded memory of horrors.

A few days ago, a sort of mix of disasters, from a huge explosion, fire, blast damage, destruction, death and injury – Beirut.

Among the usually nameless people who try to help in disaster situations, frequently at a cost of their life or injury, the action of one young Nurse in a damaged and threatened hospital, brought tears to this nagger’s eyes.

Sadly, she remains unnamed.

Her rescue of three very young babies was an exceptional act of bravery – but more, of simply female intuition to take care and love the young, that we probably experienced  with our own mothers.

A message from a Lebanese sister in the US, puts that rescue in context: “An angel watching over these three Angels … Bless all of their hearts and may God/Allah watch over them and everyone in Beirut while they deal with crisis upon crisis right now. All are in my prayers.”

A final comment I cannot resist – given that nurse’s contribution to the world, it is impossible for me to accept the recent promotions to the ‘bliss of The Lords’, of friends of Boris.

What have any of them done that could possibly compare with that lovely nurse?

Reg Clifton, Wokingham

Help the cab drivers

Many readers will have heard about Wokingham Borough Council’s recent fitness trainers permit fiasco. But few will realise that their treatment of our taxi drivers is no better.

Having served on the Council’s Licensing Committee for two years I have seen taxi drivers in Wokingham borough continually frustrated by the lack of real engagement on the many issues they face.

Taxi driver income took a massive hit during lockdown as evidenced in an article on these pages in June.

In response, as far back as May taxi drivers proposed relaxations to fees, the suspension of licensing charges, and an extension on permitted age limits of vehicles during the crisis – but the WBC Licensing Committee has not even bothered to meet to consider their proposals.

There was much unfinished business even before Covid-19 – a policy the Licensing Committee agreed two years ago that to my knowledge has never been published, a crushing increase in taxi licence fee of 75% in 2019-20, a complete lack of action on the issue of Uber drivers operating out of area, and no progress on many other issues raised by the trade at taxi liaison meetings.

Yet, despite all this mounting business and the crushing impact of Covid-19 I was astonished that the last meeting of the Licensing Committee in July was cancelled by the Chair due to ‘lack of business’ – this is an insult to taxi drivers.

Three of the last four licensing meetings have been postponed or cancelled.

I contacted the chair of this committee, Cllr Chris Bowring, six weeks ago setting out my concerns in detail. He has not even bothered to respond.

While lockdown has now eased, the pressure on taxi drivers’ income continues with the cancellation of major public events, festivals, weddings and so on – without additional measures I fear hundreds of our taxi drivers will be forced into poverty. It’s time the Licensing Committee at Wokingham Borough Council got its act together.

Currently it is not fit for purpose, and taxi drivers are suffering as a result.

Cllr Rachel Burgess, Labour Member for Norreys Ward

Thanks, Red Cross

I would like to join the ranks of all those people, congratulating the British Red Cross on its recent 150th anniversary.

We owe a particular debt of gratitude to the Wokingham Branch of the British Red Cross because they helped the Wokingham Crisis House, to get established.

We were founded in 1987, but we didn’t have a regular base until 1989.

At first, when we applied to the British Red Cross to hire their hall, in Denmark Street, as a drop-in centre, their Committee thought that this may place, at risk, their own service users – some of whom were in wheelchairs.

But they changed their minds after we ran for them a 10-week mental health education programme. Our members spoke about their mental illnesses, and how they managed them, in daily life.

So, we then spent two, very happy, years, at the British Red Cross – until we moved into Station House, in 1991. Their ladies were very kind, and I have fond memories of Joyce, Mavis, and Anne.

After leaving them, we kept in touch, and the story of how Joyce brought ‘Ted’, to one of our Christmas Parties, features in the chapter, entitled – Twenty-five Funny Stories, in Triumph and Tragedy, my, 25-year history of the Crisis House.

‘Ted’ received the warm welcome that all newcomers receive, but Joyce had omitted to mention that, as well as being a very high ranking officerin the British Red Cross, he was also an Emissary of the Queen.

I am regaling my readers with more funny stories, when my 30-year history of the crisis house is published, Deo Volente, in March 2021.

The Wokingham branch of the British Red Cross came up trumps once again in 2007, when it appeared that we would have to leave Station House, because its electricity supply was to be disconnected.

The Red Cross offered to have us back, if necessary. Fortunately, we were able to solve the electricity problem but it was good for our vulnerable members to know that alternative accommodation would be available if we had to leave Station House.

So we send the British Red Cross, hearty congratulations, on their anniversary. In these times of the coronavirus crisis their services have never been more necessary – both locally, and globally.

Pam Jenkinson, The Wokingham Crisis House, Station Approach, Wokingham

Planning marlarky

The Conservative Government released a new white paper calling for changes to the planning system to make it easier for housing to be built.

Much to my amazement the leader of Wokingham Borough Council argues that this will more than double Wokingham’s Housing build to over 1,600 every year for ever which he feels is completely unacceptable.

What a load of rubbish when it’s his Conservative-run council who have been upping Wokingham’s housing year on year from 2013 onwards secretly without telling anyone. Never a challenge to the increased numbers or a dickey bird from any of them in that period so why now? Having opened Pandora’s Box they cannot close it.

The Conservative leader John Halsall, threatened to protest naked in Whitehall if Government continued to ignore Wokingham residents’ wishes. What a load of tosh but he must be afraid of Wokingham’s electorate next May who after 20-plus years of continuous rule can at last  see how morally bankrupt Wokingham’s Conservative are.

What they do not tell you and that is to be a Wokingham Borough Council Conservative you have to join the Conservative Association.

You have to pay a Membership fee and in exchange for that support comes in various ways from producing/printing election leaflets, door-to-door or telephone canvassing and lots more not forgetting a call on one’s MP.

Look up their website and see how many appointments there are directly linked to Wokingham Borough Councillors. You will be surprised.

The reality is to be a Wokingham Borough Conservative you have to be joined at the hip to the Conservative Government plus you, toe the party line, you have to honour a three-line whip designed to deliver Conservative ideology under threat of discipline if you don’t.

Next May’s local elections will give residents the power to deal with these morally bankrupt Conservatives as they deserve much much better from the Borough Council than the undemocratic service they are getting now.

If I was to write  a Conservative Manifesto for next May I would probably just use one line and that would be ‘You can fool all of the people all of the time’ as nothing else fits better with  what they deliver now.     

Cllr Gary Cowan, Independent Borough Councillor for Arborfield at Wokingham Borough Council.

Talk PANTS now

It can be a daunting prospect to talk to our children about sexual abuse. It isn’t as straightforward as talking to them about crossing roads or dealing with strangers.

But while we all hope that our children will never be a victim of such atrocities, we know that sexual abuse does happen.

Police forces in England, Wales and Northern Ireland recorded more than 7,000 sexual offences against children aged four to eight during 2018/19.

This illustrates how important the NSPCC’s Talk PANTS campaign is, as it gives adults advice on how to talk to children in an age appropriate way about sexual abuse, without using any scary words or even mentioning sex.

With our campaign, promoted through our popular dinosaur character Pantosaurus, we teach young children that: Privates are private; Always remember your body belongs to you; No means no; Talk about secrets that upset you; and Speak up, someone can help.

The campaign helps to reinforce key lessons about abuse that will be compulsory for all primary schools in England, as part of Relationships Education.

Although the new curriculum was originally planned for mandatory roll-out from September, it has
been delayed to ensure schools can embed it correctly by the summer term of 2021.

Until this new curriculum is rolled out, there has never been a better time to Talk PANTS.

Emma Motherwell, NSPCC Campaign Manager

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