Traits of inventiveness and initiative lacking in some

At the latest count, there are about 35 of them.

Considering the level of antisocial and criminal activity in Ashford, it is encouraging to learn that we have a growing number of young people making the decision to become Police Cadets.

You may have noticed quite a crowd of these youngsters, aged between 13 and 18, in County Square and the town centre in the latter days of last week.

What do they do, these young folks? Well, their training is, they tell me, a cross between that of the scouts, the army, navy and air cadets. One of their functions is to interact with the public at various events and inform people of the things the police do over and beyond the obvious one of catching criminals. Last weekend they helped man a stall in County Square, raising the profile of the Neighbourhood Watch scheme.

‘Outrageous’ and ‘unconscionable’ were two of the first words to come to mind when I read about the council’s behaviour regarding the proposal to build a £6million solar farm in Shadoxhurst. Not that I think the scheme is a bad one, it is the arrogance shown in the way the cabinet debated the issue before mentioning it to Shadoxhurst Parish Council. Just another example of the ways in which people elected to serve the public will treat even a parish council and the community it serves with casual contempt.

One Peter Lake, from Tenterden, wrote a letter last week. It seems that he had bought a bench as a memorial to his late wife. Some six months later, the town council informed him that all such benches become the property of the council. They told Mr Lake and the other bench donors that they could be allowed to place floral tributes on them once a year. After protests, Mr Lake was told that two tributes a year would be allowed but only if left on the ground without wrappings.

Now, homo sapiens has, over the years, proved itself to be a race not entirely lacking in initiative and inventiveness, two traits that have proved to be absent in a few individuals.

Surely it would not be beyond the wit of man to fix neat, vase-shaped containers on the backs of such benches and thus allow yearround tributes if desired.