Your countryside
HAVE YOUR SAY ON RURAL ISSUES
Share your views and opinions by writing to us at: Have your say: BBC Countryfile Magazine, Eagle House, Bristol BS1 4ST; or email editor@countryfile.com, tweet us @CountryfileMag or via Facebook facebook.com/countryfilemagazine
*We reserve the right to edit correspondence.
A GREEN ROLE MODEL?
I was incensed to read Ellie Harrison’s rather flippant remarks (November issue) about how she excuses her non- “planet-saving sustainability” actions because it makes “life a little easier”.
She is a major role model for thousands of people and yet she has just endorsed unsustainable practices, such as using a tumble dryer and next-day deliveries. These are just the sort of things we should absolutely not be doing.
This is not the first time Ellie has mentioned her loose attitude towards cutting her carbon footprint either. If she really cares about climate change and living sustainably, it would be great to hear about her further greener commitments, not what other environmentally unfriendly things she does.
Laura Johnston, via email
Fergus Collins responds:
In Ellie’s defence, she was pointing out that, even with the very best intentions, many of us occasionally take shortcuts to gain a bit of vital breathing space in our hectic lives and we shouldn’t beat ourselves up for the occasional slip.
MEMORIES OF CORNISH HOLIDAYS
The gloriously detailed sketch of Mousehole, Cornwall (July issue) brought my childhood memories from the 1960s flooding back.
The gruelling drive from the cold north-west. Marvelling as only a child can at the change in soil colour in the ploughed fields, from black to chalk to red, as we passed
through each county. We four children thrilled at the sight of the first thatched cottage, of front gardens spilling over with blue hydrangeas. Was it always blue skies and herring gulls?
I like to think so.
To a child, everything was magical. Beautiful colours of serpentine rock in the pathways, pink sea thrift on the cliff edges, the ground warm underneath our feet and, at night, the dark hedges and shrubs twinkled with glowworms. Above us, the Perseids meteor shower glittered across the horizon.
My heartfelt thanks for the kindness and endless patience of the Cornish people. Love from a grateful emmet (tourist).
Shelagh Milton,
Whitley Bay, Tyne and Wear
POPULATION PROBLEMS
Your article in the September issue bemoaned the likely loss of beautiful farmland in Bristol to build houses. However, the world’s population is increasing by about 800 million people every 10 years. This is equivalent to about 1,000 cities the size of Bristol (population about 700,000) every 10 years. Where is there room for such growth? We are committing an atrocity on nature and the planet Earth by allowing it.
I believe, therefore, that it is quite irresponsible at this time in our history for people to have children at all. We should control this natural urge and advocate to others to do the same. It amazes me that so many otherwise intelligent people can’t face up to the truth of this, and instead let their love of children rule. Stephen Conn,
New Zealand
RESPONSIBLE DOG OWNERSHIP
While I sincerely sympathise with the sentiments of Julian Wiseman’s letter (November issue), I strongly object to his use of one word. It is not “most” dog owners who are irresponsible when picking up dog poo. “Most” of us are responsible and considerate, caring for both people and places, and I am one of a huge number whose coat pockets are permanently filled with a roll of poo bags – sometimes to my embarrassment when they fall out at inappropriate moments!
I live in a village that includes a large number of dog owners and “most” of us can be seen heading for home, poo bag in hand, to dispose of at home or in a designated receptacle such as a dog-poo bin. As with most issues in today’s society, it is the lesser number who behave in a noticeably thoughtless way that give the majority of us who are quietly responsible a bad name.
As a considerate dog owner who wants to enjoy as many places as possible with my companion, that is what I find objectionable. Barbara Priest,
Kington Magna, Dorset