Letters

The West Dorset Magazine, August 12, 2022 63 newsdesk@westdorsetmag.co.uk Letters On spitoons and peeling wallpaper

I so agree with the sentiments raised in the article about the Bottle Inn. My two sisters and I lived there for many years, whilst my younger sister and I were born there my elder sister could not be as my parents had only just taken over the licence and the property was in really bad repair. My elder sister was born at the Rose and Crown at Birdsmorgate, where my grandmother was the landlady for 42-and-a-half years. I remember my mother saying when they looked at it the first time the ceiling paper was hanging off and almost touched the floor. The men who frequented the bar said they were going to drink elsewhere as my mother took away their spittoons. They did not go as it was a long way to the New Inn in the middle of Marshwood. Both parents worked really hard and opened a grocery shop in the wooden building that has now fallen down. My father built a house to house the engine which gave us electric. He even charged batteries for people to have some sort of light in their homes. After 18-and-a-half years they moved to Chideock where they ran the Manning Stores. But my mother did not like the grocery trade and they bought the Shave Cross Inn in the Marshwood Vale. Joyce Dunford

I very much enjoy Jo Belasco’s enthusiasticallywritten Pagan Views column, introducing readers of your excellent magazine to the ancient Pagan sites/stone circles in the Dorset area. A very good contact for further activities beyond Dorset is the network of ley hunters (C/O L-main, 9 Mawddwy Cottages, Minllyn, Dinas, Mawddy, Machynlleth, Wales, SY20 9LW). T E Little Sherborne PS: Apologies for the handwritten letter (I’m 85 with no computer!)

Dear WDM I always enjoy reading WDM. BUT come on: page 3 of the July 29 issue contained a solecism of epic proportions: Quote, ‘a disproportionate amount of dogs’ unquote. Were they stacked high in a great big pile? You mean quote, ‘number of dogs’ unquote. Please WDM, set the grammatical bar high!! Richard Lewington

During the pandemic, many of us rediscovered the simple act of walking – the oldest, cheapest and greenest transport there is. Walking kept us connected to ourselves and to others and helped us to stay healthy and happy. Walking is good for our minds, our bodies, and our cities, towns and villages. But lots of us still struggle with narrow, cluttered, uneven pavements; crossings that prioritise cars rather than people; and growing numbers of speeding vehicles. It doesn’t have to be like this. That’s why I support the demands Living Streets has made ahead of this year’s elections, calling on candidates to pledge to improve our streets for all, cut air pollution and make walking easier and safer. Visit livingstreets.org.uk/may22 for more info. Candidates must commit to set Vision Zero targets of significant reductions in people killed and injured on our roads. We call for commitments on default 20mph speed limits in built-up areas, improvements to our crossings and junctions and an increase in the number of low traffic neighbourhoods. One person killed on our roads is one too many. It is time we redesigned our streets around people, not cars. That way we can all enjoy the benefits of walking and build healthier, happier communities. Bridget Letten, Dorchester

Having read The West Dorset Magazine found it a very informative and lovely mag, including clever quip titles of stories. One story you have covered, is the Martyrs Festival in Tolpuddle, in which Nigel Costley has been organiser of the festival for 27yrs. In fact my father Stanley Harry Pitman was the man whom started this whole thing first, in early 70s. Stanley was landlord of a public house in Shaftesbury, before the breweries offered the only pub in Tolpuddle, being that he was closer to his family in Weymouth (at the time). The pub’s original name has escaped me at present, but my father wanted to change the pub name to The Martyrs Inn, the brewers agreed, and it was my father whom started this whole affair. He contacted the Head Trade Unionist Jack Jones to come down to Tolpuddle and open the Martyrs Inn and the first ever day’s show or festival with all newspaper reporters etc making a day of it. This was the beginning of what is happening today’. Though I have never heard my father’s name mentioned. It is mentioned’ in my life story. I have just finished writing my life book which is extremely colourful, and a long story of International entertainment, though my beginnings were agonising, hence my desire to donate the entire book to BBC’s Children in Need Appeal. Roger James Pitman

It’s not just in the South West (Water companies slated, Edition 13); the dismal performance of all England’s water companies is characteristic of the industry as a whole: it continues to underinvest while running up huge corporate debt to pay handsome dividends to its shareholders. To keep this racket going it simply can’t afford to stop polluting. The 32 years since denationalisation have demonstrated beyond any doubt that a privatised service simply cannot meet the nation’s needs. The blunt truth is that only a re-nationalised water industry is capable of providing the service we need. If Loder is really serious about improving our water services he must press for the only reform capable of making structural improvements to the industry. Attending ‘summits’ with company officials is a waste of time: he can be no match for the supreme skill the industry has acquired in defending the indefensible. Lawrence Hansen Bridport