BRIDGE RESULTS

Another week of bowling has passed, and with it the last men’s league game of the season.

Well done to our gents who won both their games played against Hilton Bowling Club on Saturday, October 8. What a fantastic way to end the season.

Also, the next round of the ladies Club Pairs were played with Lisa Nagel and Wendy Smith advancing to the finals, where they’ll be playing against Pippa Griffin and Grace Mainprize.

The men’s finals will feature Kevin Palmer and Barry Fairbrother playing against Peter Burton and Dave Mainprize. It should make for an exciting afternoon of bowls so watch this space for the date.

Another exciting development currently on the go at UWBC is the arrival of our lights. We’ll soon be installing floodlights on A green,

Amberfield Contract Bridge Club The results of the Howell movement games at the Amberfield Contract Bridge Club on October 4 were: 1, Geoff and Bets Richardson; 2, Jill and Aubrey Bowles; 3, Pam Potter and Barbara Greene.

Amber Valley Bridge Club

The results of the games played at the Amber Valley Bridge Club on October 5 were:

Green section – 1, Geoff Richardson and Mary Webb; 2, Paddy Barker and Diana Loughor Clarke; 3, Carol Birch and Gayle Bastard.

Red section – 1, Jim and Mary allowing us the opportunity to enjoy some evening bowls in the future ... ending a warm summer’s day with an evening of bowls definitely sounds like a great idea.

Forthcoming events

• Wednesday, October 12: Halfway Toyota Drawn Trips. Start time 1.15pm.

• Saturday, October 15: Greendale Spar 3 Bowl Trips. Start time 1.15pm

• Tuesday, October 18: J Leslie Smith Drawn 2-4-2. Start time 9am.

• Friday, October 28: SG Knott Construction Nominated 2

Bowl Trips. Pre-entries required. Start time 9am.

Regular days and start times are Tuesdays at 9am and Wednesdays and Saturdays at 1.30pm. Visitors are always welcome.

Coaching by registered coaches is available. Phone 071 164 3162.

Little; 2, Mike O'Connor and Moyra Ford; 3, Glenda Pierides and Helen Ward.

Amberglen Duplicate Bridge Club

The results of the Howell movement games played at the Amberglen Duplicate Bridge Club on October 6 were:

Green boards – 1, Alan Mackay and Dave Johnson; 2, Alison Kleyn and Mariane Redman; 3, John Field and Carol Birch.

Blue boards – 1, Barbara Green and Diana Lougher-Clarke; 2, Margie Britton and Beulah Spence; 3, Joan Conway and Audrey van Coller.

KM Ross and Margaret Fraser were two contributors who responded to the anonymous letter about Hunger Busters by strongly rejecting the allegations and insinuations it contained. Both stressed their belief in the honesty and trustworthiness of Rob Askew and Hunger Busters in heartfelt letters, excerpts of which appear below.

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KM Ross wrote:

Has the anonymous writer, who doesn’t have the cojones to sign his/her name, any idea of what Askew and his team of volunteers actually does?

Where was this anonymous writer during the midst of lockdown when there was not a soul in the streets of Howick, not one garbage can with a scrap of food in it, to feed these kids? Half of them, through no fault of their own, have no ID, have no access to the R350 grant, have no money, no income. Their only food source was Hunger Busters.

Their food parcels, made up by extraordinary volunteers, with the assistance and compassion of numerous other kind hearted souls, and coordinated by Askew, are often their sole source of solid food in a week.

Askew has a meticulous database, which he updates continually, on each of the people he feeds. He knows and monitors their progress, celebrates when the occasional one manages to go “straight”, grieves when some succumb to fatal illness, and yes, he prays with them, from which they gain some emotional sustenance.

He does this from a sense of caring and compassion.

Rob Askew is a highly principled, kind, thoughtful, caring individual - as is the team who works with him. People like Paula Taylor, local psychologist, spent hours, days, working alongside Hunger

It is with absolute horror and disgust that I read your article, ‘Warthog Shooting Horrifies Residents’. Indeed this incident is totally unacceptable. People are not asked to come and live in this

Busters, and can attest to the futility of many people’s efforts to find help for these street people.

• Margaret Fraser wrote:

Anonymous did not even have the courage of his/her convictions to sign the rather "ugly" letter regarding Hunger Busters. Hunger Busters is a charity outreach.

No charity can keep going unless it apprises the local community of the work that it is doing. Rob Askew is the first to acknowledge that the work carried out by Hunger Busters in feeding the homeless and destitute is totally dependent on a willing team of workers, not just one man

Perhaps Anonymous should consider the consequences of not feeding the homeless and destitute in our area. Hunger together with anger are incendiary. Remember that the hungry and homeless were here long before Hunger Busters started their feeding outreach.

The people that Hunger Busters feeds are on a managed list, it is not random. The poor will always be with us. Whoonga et al - very sad and concerning, but remember there are people in Howick who are doing all that they can to work on finding ways to rehabilitate the addicts. These same people totally support what Hunger Busters is doing.

Take a moment to try to put yourself in the shoes of a person who, for many and varied reasons, has no hope of finding work in their lifetime. It is not a comfortable place to be. So "earning an honest living by working" is a luxury many will never have.’

Fraser then quoted from the anonymous letter: "Perhaps introducing a sort of reward system would encourage less crime. For example a person may only qualify for a food parcel if they have for instance, provided a service such as picking up litter, or providing or environment, they choose to knowing full well wild animals live there. Surely it is a criminal offense to discharge fire arms in a built up area? To so cruelly herd them against a fence and then blatantly shoot them is so cruel.

Surely the SPCA needs to lay a charge against the perpetrators doing some sort of useful service in order to earn a meal or a food parcel."

In response, she urged the writer to visit the Street Shop run under the auspices of Love Howick and ask how they operate.

‘Would it surprise you to know that tokens handed out for bringing in bags of recycling can be exchanged for food or good second hand clothing? Clearly such an enterprise can only operate if enough generous people in Howick regularly donate food and good clothing. That is something you may consider doing as it can be done anonymously. Your insinuation that any of the Hunger Busters teams are lining their pockets with church money is beneath contempt .

Living in Howick,we are truly blessed to have so many groups of volunteers of all ages who doing amazing work uplifting Howick as a town in so many different ways.

Courses are being offered to up skill young people under the banner of Love Howick and maybe other organisations as well. There are many groups caring for those less fortunate.

All of that work is supported in different ways by many, many people and also businesses in Howick. We are truly fortunate to be living here in this town.

• Another contributor, Doug Bernard Mills, wrote:

I think it is absolutely disgusting that someone who has the audacity to publicly defame a person hides behind an “anonymous “when writing such a caustic letter to a newspaper.

Come on be a man (or women) and reveal your identity and let us know what you are trying to do to improve our town and it’s people.

I might mention that I have never met Mr Askew or been involved in the feeding project. and Amber Lee.

I trust the resident who complained about her garden being dug up by these animals will feel remorse as her garden grows at the cost of lives of precious animals who cannot fight a gun. Shame on you.

Concerned Ambers resident