Viewpoint: How Holyport dinosaur left my car a rex

Chasing lost causes on the Tiser letters page

Last week’s Advertiser seemed to feature several letters about lost causes.

George Midgley rightly highlighted the duplicity of the Liberal Democrats by letting us all down over the golf course.

It reminded me of the way they also reneged on their manifesto years ago, after they promised to scrap Blair’s student fees…and didn’t.

Whatever weasel words the Lib Dems come up with, surely most of us voted for them mainly because we wanted that outrageous golf course scheme stopped?

I know I did.

And as for those 1,500 ‘much-needed’ new homes, apart from providing much needed profits for CALA Homes, they will mean over 4,000 more cars clogging up Maidenhead’s already choked roads.

Not even the Great Green Spine can stop that.

Then to cap it all, after the local elections, we ended up in Riverside with a Labour councillor we never voted for.

I absolutely agree with Kashmir Singh’s issue with his party over the Maidenhead Golf Club, I applauded his stance on the matter.

But it was totally wrong, and in my opinion, unconstitutional of him, to just switch sides to represent the Labour Party.

Mr Singh should have become an independent or remained and been a thorn in his party’s side over the golf course.

Whatever politicians claim, people mainly vote for a party.

What IS the point of voting, if one of the councillors just switches sides after being elected?

And talking of lost causes, those old sparring partners, James Aidan and our very own Brexiter-in-Chief, Doctor D R Cooper were at it yet again.

Interestingly, after all this time, James Aidan isn’t quite sure whether Dr Cooper is a he or a she.

So maybe, especially bearing in mind Dr Cooper’s desire to go back in time, from now on we should simply refer to him/her as Dr Who?

In last week’s Advertiser, The Doctor was very exercised about a group at the Last Night of the Proms calling itself ‘Thank EU for The Music’.

What I would say to The Doctor is, ‘Are EU ‘aving a laugh?’.

Anyway, enough of bad puns and bad politics.

As far as I’m concerned, at least we now have control over the effectiveness and durability of The Great British condom.

It was quite shocking that Frenchmen were able to have a say in such matters, particularly regarding their length.

In conclusion, apart from such vital matters as French Condom Control, I’m not sure why we left the EU but, as I said, it is sadly yet another one of those lost causes.

Au revoir, or as Del Boy would say, Bonnet de Douche.

Mr MALCOLM STRETTEN

Riverside

Maidenhead

My car was rex-ed by wayward dinosaur tail

The picture of a dinosaur being driven across Holyport Village Green in 1974 (Remember When, September 20) made me chuckle as it reminded me of my then car’s contact with the dinosaur’s tail.

After filming, when the lorry carrying the dinosaur was leaving the Green, I was driving in the opposite direction obscuring what turned out to be an insecurely tethered tail-end – the dinosaur's, not my car.

The car suffered a score all along the side.

Imagine the reaction from the insurance company when the reason for the damage was contact with a dinosaur's tail!

DIANE HAYES

Hearne Drive

Holyport

Car woes, complaints and council tax protest

Your correspondent John Woodcock asks why the contractors cannot do the job properly and it is because the RBWM cannot get the instructions to the contractors correct.

My car ‘died’ some eight weeks back and it was left in a car park with a permit displayed, and suddenly it attracted the attention of a traffic enforcement officer, who decided it was not parked ‘correctly’ within the white lines.

With piston rings shot it turns over but there is no power for the steering so it has stayed where it died.

It has several notices on it saying ‘awaiting collection for scrap’ but the officer obviously cannot read, and issues a penalty charge notice.

I am 79 – do the council expect me to lift the vehicle bodily within the lines?

On July 5, the day after the election, a complaint was made to the electoral officer. No response was received before the new website was introduced on August 1 and the complaint was not transferred to the new system, I find, and so I have to re-register it.

As the third month approaches with no response and my telephone requests for an answer will be ‘passed on’, I decide to stop paying my council tax in protest, as there is no other way to express dissatisfaction.

Whilst no answer is forthcoming, the council decided to issue me with a summons to appear in court in Reading on the day this issue of the Advertiser is published.

When I declare that I have a long list of complaints which I will be happy to air in court for the magistrate to decide upon, RBWM concedes and withdraws the action.

Council tax on my late wife’s property in Shoppenhangers Road was paid up to date at the end of March by my daughter and a direct debit request was made for future payment.

This duly arrives in early September – FIVE MONTHS later!

Is it no wonder that the finances of the council are so dire?

My various emails to Stephen Evans, the council's chief executive, since the election remain unanswered.

The new Liberal Democrat administration lists some 181 ‘errors’ in the finances of the Borough since they were elected.

I think it is extractum digitum time for the Lib Dems to get the council officers to do their jobs properly!

MERVYN BUSTON

East Road

Maidenhead

Thanks to sponsors and dedicated volunteers

Friends of Maidenhead Waterways would like to thank everyone who joined us on Saturday, September 14 and helped make the 2024 Waterways Fun Day such a resounding success.

Thanks are due especially to our hard working volunteers and to the event sponsors Waterside Quarter, the Louis Baylis Trust and Presto.

Our sponsors’ support enabled us to include lots of free activities, with a range of entertainers and activity providers offering something for all the family throughout the day.

Helped by the lovely weather, the fun went on all day on the [closed] High Street over the waterway; inside Waterside Quarter; in Maudsley Gardens; and on the waterway itself, enjoyed by thousands of residents and visitors.

Around 200 free boat trips were provided from the boating platform by Bakedd on the day....the ‘icing on the cake’ for many.

After all the positive feedback, we hope to be able to run the event again in 2025.

RICHARD DAVENPORT and ANDREW INGRAM (event organisers)

Friends of Maidenhead Waterways

European Union is in a state of rapid decline

James Aiden denigrates the historic achievements of Great Britain while holding the European Union up on a pedestal.

No doubt he feels the wealth that the British Empire created was due to exploitation, but at least we allowed our empire to be dismantled more peaceably than any previous empire.

It can be argued that the financial gains were invested productively in defending democracy through two world wars.

We even have new members voluntarily joining the Commonwealth.

Yet Mr Aiden puts his faith in a moribund EU with multiple interests incapable of rapid decision making that is in a state of rapid decline and potential disintegration.

In 1990, the 12 member countries contributed over 26 per cent of global trade, but now the 27 member countries contribute only 12 per cent.

On present trends, the EU economies are likely to shrink in future.

The UK may well have had lousy governance, but at least we retain control over our own blunders and the agility to respond more quickly.

Neither is this isolationism, as we retain the ability to make bilateral trading agreements with other like-minded nations.

KEITH HALL

Highfield Lane

Maidenhead