Letters

The art of breathing fresh life into our town centres

THERE is so much talent and imagination in our community but we don’t always give it the chance to breathe some new life into our town centres.

Street art can refresh and invigorate the look and appeal of our town centres, taking inspiration from cities such as Bristol and Manchester. It can transform the look and feel of communal spaces and help us to take pride in our towns.

Boarded up buildings and closed shop fronts seem dreary and uncared for. Quality art and sculpture can transform how we feel about our home towns and our community spaces.

Art inspires, creates talking points and can showcase our rich heritage – particularly our military and aviation history.

I’ve seen how community artists can create exciting and inspiring pieces of art in the Totland Estate in Farnborough. We need to work with local creatives to transform empty and dreary spaces into places of hope, inspiration and aspiration.

We have a rich array of talent locally. There are opportunities to work with schools, colleges, businesses and fantastic venues such as the West End Centre in Aldershot to create innovative artwork and sculptures that reflect our diverse history and to create talking points and places of real interest.

Creating community art develops a sense of oneness, a sense that we ‘are all in this together’ in an increasingly disconnected world. Through art we can take pride in our town centres, transforming the neglected and ‘under construction’ spaces to enlighten, inform and entertain rather than leave them feeling desolate or unwelcoming.

Rushmoor Borough Council’s regeneration plans for Aldershot and Farnborough town centres includes welcoming creative people and creating craft workshops.

But we don’t have to wait three years or more to make a difference to our towns.

We can transform our town centres through creative and innovative art so that we can create pride in our towns NOW, not just at some point in the future.

Tracy Yates Rushmoor Liberal Democrats campaigner

Common land should be just that – sign now

FOR what good it will do, I have signed the petition ‘Maintain public access to MOD Land in Aldershot & District Areas’ at http://chng.it/ s4DkrGWvpM).

Personally, I think this is more about securing ownership of the land to sell it off than anything currently doing the rounds.

Those of us who served in the 60s will remember operation gatekeeper, or whatever it was called, when we had to man barriers so as to preserve the military guardianship of the land.

Many of the older generations will also remember this annual ritual and have to ask permission to cross ‘military’ lands.

This annual exercise dropped off the calendar many years (decades) ago. Gates were brought in at the entrance to military lands so as to keep it ‘SAFE’. A fat lot of good that did, as most of the gates proved ineffective with many disappearing without trace.

The enclosures act is a long established policy that allows landowners or people that think they own or would like to own a parcel of land to fence it off. If the fencing off is unchallenged for five years then ownership of the lad is passed to the fence builder. This seems remarkable similar to what is happening on Long Valley. I would also suggest that the protest groups may already have overturned the new right of ownership by their protests.

The petition can only enforce this and require the MoD to come up with another alternative, which seems to be what’s happening.

Most of this Laffan’s Plain (Long Valley) area seems to have been common land before the War Department took it over for the training of Her Majesty’s troops (Victoria) in perpetuity.

Perpetuity seems to have run out. Act now to have the common land returned to the commoners, whoever they are.

Roger Watkins Friend Avenue, Aldershot

Lack of self-sufficiency weakens the military

Art inspires, creates talking points and can showcase our rich heritage

DURING coronavirus, who is our last line of defence?

Remember the emergency worker strikes and our great military stepping in to drive ambulances or extinguish fires?

This was at a comfortable time for the Government when the Army was double the number it is now.

Now we are told the military will ‘backfill’ as drivers if NHS staff fall ill. The military at one time was selfsufficient and cooked, cleaned and repaired – now all this is outsourced.

With sick pay rules altered and pay and conditions still worse than when ‘in house’, who prevents sick civilian staff potentially making soldiers sick?

Keith Winkworth, Frogmore

Seeking memories of my WW2 pilot father

I KNOW this is a long shot.

I am 73-years-old and trying to get information about my father, George Henry Richardson, and his RAF days. He was a pilot in Coastal, Transport and Bomber Command joining the RAF as an apprentice towards the end of the Second World War, ending up flying Lancasters and Shackletons and many other planes in between.

If anyone was to remember him, it would probably be from Christmas Island, Grapple Y and the H bomb tests in 1958. He flew out from Ballykelly and part of his job was to fly the Shackleton taking photos of the bomb igniting.

Can you help me fill in a bit of his history. Does anyone remember him? Any small piece of information would be greatly appreciated. A photo? A memory?

I am writing to this paper because my father was stationed all over the place and of course people move all over the place these days as well. Thanking you in anticipation.

Ray Richardson, 37 Belle Vue Park, Peel,

Isle of Man IM5 1UE rdrichardson@hotmail.co.uk

Antiques expert joins charity dinner evening

READERS with an interest in antiques and auctions may be interested in Phyllis Tuckwell’s Charity Dinner, a three-course meal with an after-dinner talk from guest speaker

Charles Hanson, one of the UK’s best known auctioneers.

Famous for his appearances on BBC’s Bargain Hunt, Antiques Road Trip and Flog it, Charles’s extensive knowledge and expertise have made him a household name. At this dinner he will speak about his experiences, give a couple of valuations of guests’ items and host an auction.

This charity dinner will be held on Saturday (March 21) at The Casa Hotel in Yateley, and raise money for Phyllis Tuckwell, which provides supportive and end of life care for local patients and families who are living with an advanced or terminal illness.

Tickets cost £45 each and you can buy yours now by calling Phyllis Tuckwell’s Fundraising team on 01252 729446, emailing fundraising@pth.org.uk or visiting www. pth.org.uk/events.

Fiona Chapman Events Fundraiser Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice Care