Page 53 - link magazine

The Link Magazine • November 2002 45
Letters to The Link
APPLIANCE REPAIRS
Should be sent btu the 12th of the month to the address on page 4.
Litter picking — a pretty dirty business
Rev Brian Sweetman reflects on the Abbey Meads clear up day in early October.
Repairs to most makes of: "Thank you for being so thought- tic bag full of dog droppings hang- people just blithel y threw it away.
less," I blurted out as the young ing from a branch. One wonders at how lazy we have
3 Washing Machines
lad spat out his milk and put the On the other hand ... what a become.
3 Dryers
carton on the bollard closeby. brilliant lot of folks who came. It is ironic that the evening pa-
3 Dishwashers 'That's OK," he chirped, jauntily Some offered the little time they per featured a photograph of two
3 Microwaves walking away from the scene with had spare, others spent quite a few young litter pickers at the only
3 Vacuum Cleaners his two friends, adding, 'I would hours, picking up the litter; one place in Abbey Meads which is
have thrown it on the ground if fellow takingabag'onspec'totidy tidied daily - the Village Centre.
John Phillips Servicing
you had not been there.' up on his way home, a young The cleaners can tell a story or two
32 years experience. That was one encounter I had mother encouraging her children about how people deal with their
No VAT. All work guaranteed whilst litter picking on the Abbey to pick up the litter throughout the rubbish, but y ou have to be up
Meads late Spring clean in early day, and really working at it hard, early to catch them mind you.
October. Thanks must go to Mic Warr who What was the point? Maybe we
Another was had by one of the worked so hard at making sure it heightened some people's aware-
team as they asked a women dog happened. ness of litter, maybe we added to
CLEANING walkertopickupthemessherdog Yet a day later it seemed as if the subliminal conscience of how
had left on the path, pointing out nothing had happened. There was things might be.
f Whitewa the £1,000 potential fine that she just as much litter as we had picked For me it was a time to declare
Cj would incur if nabbed. After claim- up, apart from the six Asda trol- that the "Earth is the Lord's and
The Carpet & ing she had nothing to pick it up leys. Forty nine had been picked everythingin it," and we are called
Upholstery Cleaning Specialist with, she walked away, saying a up the Thursday before on the to be good stewards of the lovely
• Carpets, rugs, curtains, suites etc few choice 'alternative words.' monthly collection, part of His world in which we
• Emergency call out available Mind you I wondered what was As we picked the litter up, other have been placed.
• Hard floors cleaned and sealed worse when I litter-picked a plas-
• Stain removal • Protection treatment Are we worth another 40p per household a week?
• Fully insured Calling Spurs people from Fire Brigade Union member Perry Payne, Shatc
• Quickly usable Are you a supporter or member of "One fireman stopped to take a animals, persons trapped in ma-
You'll be amazed how affordable it is Tottenham Hotspur FC and would breath and we looked each other chinery or even children trapped
...call for your free estimate from you you be interested in a Swindon in the eye," said one survivor. "He in the places and by the things they
local independent on 01793 731418 Branch of the supporters' club? was going to the place I was trying contrive to find;
or mobile: 07808 355487 If so, please mail Chris Poole: to damn well get out of." or offer help to those who might
Email: cliff.whitewayCbtinternet.corn [email protected] This is a quote often said about otherwise wish to take their own
firefighters all over the world as life, or that recover the bodies of
they attend many kinds of differ- those that do;
GARDEN SERVICES REMOVALS & STORAGE ent incidents trying to save a life, or give advice to everyone from
This one happened to be the World the lessons learned from tragedy,
Grass cutting F Trade Centre on 11 September that help to make our buildings
S£RIIC
K
t N1Y A PEE / rr.",]^' a^iya y ^y". 2001; it could just as easily have safer or that help to educate chil-
Hedge trimming E us i
3 J i1 V been the recent incident in Paris dren in matters of their safety;
Regular, occasional or one-off _ "were bigger than we undr where five firefighters were killed, or face, deal with and then pri-
^ ^ Tel: 01793 772888 or the next one. vately live with the awful trag-
Long grass no problem It is a difficult and a dangerous edies that can beset human life;
Clean, tidy work job at times. There aren't that many or provide this service 24 hours
THE MAN WITH A VAN professions where people are a day, 365 days a year, without
Sensible prices
(Est 1993) working in an environment where, discrimination, fear or favour;
Odd jobs, fencing repairs, etc. • 24hrs - 7 days a week without their protective equipment If there were another profession,
• Single items to a full house
Friendly, 7 day service and constant training, the work- I wonder what it would cost?
• 8 different size vehicles ing conditions will not sustain A 40% pay increase is a big per-
Chris Reed • Disposal of unwanted items human life; centage increase if it's an MP's sal-
Tel: 01793 772888
Swindon 538839 or where there might not be a ary. It isn't, it's to a firefighters
Fax: 01793 772444 floor to tread upon, obscured by salary and please consider 40% of
Mobile: 07702 285865 EMail: [email protected] dense smoke, in temperatures very little still isn't much!
reaching 800 degrees centigrade at The cost of your fire service
SUNBED HIRE TV & VIDEO REPAIRS ceiling level; equates to £1.39 per household per
or where the decisions made can week, approximately half what
Deb's and often do mean the difference each household spends on the
GOGGLEBOX between life and death: your own, National Lottery and less than the
Sunbeds others, both, perhaps many; cost of a daily newspaper.
TV & VIDEO or where lives depend upon the Firefighters are asking for your
Home REPAIR next piece of metal to be cut, how support and understanding. A Fire
and when it's cut; Service strike is an awful concept
Rental SERVICE or where all of the above can and to me and to my colleagues.
does happen, in a single day. To fund our pay claim in full, it
Fast tanning canopies
There aren't many professions will cost 40p per week more per
and doubles also available * Free home estimates that deal with train crashes, plane household. I argue that if Govern-
Free installation & local delivery * No call out charge crashes, car crashes, chemical ment had done its job properly,
leaks, radiation leaks, flooding, firefighters would not have to be
Tel: 01793 619758/726906 * All repairs guaranteed persons trapped in or under build- asking for a forty per cent increase
anytime ings,trappedonclifffaces,intower just to reach a creditable wage.
( Mobile: 07778-641052) Tel: 01793-812738 cranes or a collapsed trench; The full version of this letter can
or deal with trapped or injured be read atwww.swindonlink.com