November Editorial

Ray wonders if the aliens have been to Oxborough Road again...

Hello again,

I trust you all survived another Halloween? It seemed that much was said this year about how this festival has descended into evil and that children should carry balloons rather than wear masks. I suppose a ghoulish face could be scary to the old and vulnerable but children must be allowed some traditional activities.

I almost started by welcoming everyone to the Stoke Ferry Riviera! What a wonderful month October has been for warm and sunny days. Poor old mother nature just can't seem to get it right. Gardeners have loved the warmth of an extended summer and the wild live in most cases seem to thrive on it. Only last week, during the second week of October, we say a duck on the Boughton pond swimming happily with her newly hatched brood. I am told that the rhododendrons at Sandringham have returned to flower and here in Stoke Ferry some Forsythia is back in bloom. Add to this the number of butterflies seen around Stoke Ferry common and you could be forgiven for thinking you were somewhere in the Middle east.

I'm sure many of you will be preparing for your annual Guy Fawkes event when you read this. Do look at the simple rules on page 25; they could just save a child from serious injury. Fireworks are a long standing tradition in our part of the world and it would be a shame if such spectacular events were banned by the authorities. But as dog owners we know only too well the terror that the flashes and bangs bring to our pets. Do give some thought to the neighbourhood pet population and to the many horses grazing in our local fields.

I see the Aliens have returned to Oxborough Road in Stoke Ferry to try to obliterate the tracks left by their space craft. I say aliens, because I can't believe that anyone from this planet carried out the cobbled repairs to our ancient highway. The holes in the road remain although in some cases they are almost concealed by lose stones and chippings which have conveniently spread everywhere but in the area of repair. Moreover, only selective repairs have been carried out; many broken areas of road surface have remained immune from the alien invasion.

Don't forget the Annual general meeting of The Village Pump on WEDNESDAY 8th NOVEMBER . I did my best to confuse you last month by quoting the wrong date so please accept my apologies. Also for incorrectly announcing the date of The Village Hall AGM. My apologies to those among you who dutifully turned up on the 3rd October!

Ray Thompson