Telling It Like It Is

Rescuers risking their lives for the foolhardy

by David Hollister

THINGS to make you laugh... things to make you cry... things to make you cross... and things to make you think! That’s the whole point of both this fortnightly column and my afternoon radio show. It seems to work...

My comments about cliff climbers and the emergency services – September 2022 – really seem to have brought the knives out! Climbers, like cyclists, seem to be able to take offence at the slightest mention, even if it was not intended to be offensive. My suggestion that those being rescued should make a contribution to the cost of said rescue if they set out on their adventure with ‘inadequate or poorly prepared kit’ or if they were ‘people old enough to know better’ certainly ruffled some feathers.

But I stand by my comments and ask again why they feel it is okay for others to risk their lives in this way, and to suggest again that contributions should be made towards the expensive equipment used in rescues.

Two incidents recently came to mind: the lifeboat rescue featured on ‘Saving Lives At Sea’, which featured Becky and her brilliant crew helping a diver who had become unconscious at depth and who was only saved because the lifeboat crew were expert in their jobs; and the climber who left his unattended rope dangling from the cliffs, resulting in the cliff rescue team and the lifeboat being called out on what proved to be a fool’s errand – total waste of their time and resources.

Poole Crematorium made the news recently by announcing it was going to close its cremators and become what seems to me to be a rather incongruous social centre. Fortunately the good people of Poole and beyond picked this up, started a petition on change.org, and as a result BCP was forced to give way. Despite every indication that BCP was reluctant to reinstate cremators at Poole, it came through in the end. We think.

At its cabinet meeting on September 28, BCP Council agreed officers should submit a report to the cabinet within six months on the way forward to reinstating cremation at Poole, and that at least one cremator should be installed within 18 months. It is also looking at the more environmentally friendly approach with electric cremators. Whether that is considered financially viable remains to be seen as this would mean a larger initial outlay.

We are hopeful this promise will be fulfilled but will be closely monitoring the progress. But really! Eighteen months without a cremator, necessitating the recently bereaved travel to Weymouth or Bournemouth? Who let that happen? How come the old cremators passed away unnoticed? Had BCP taken its eye off the ball while concentrating on the ridiculous ‘cycle lanes’ which have served to reduce traffic in Bournemouth to a virtual crawl in places?

There is a perfectly good cremation facility called Harbour View in Lytchett, but this is privately owned by Tappers and for those of us who would prefer to be despatched by James Smith of Swanage or Albert Marsh in Wareham, it comes as a shock to discover that this excellent facility is not available unless we use Tappers!

Whatever happens, the Poole Crematorium refurbishment programme is going to take a long time. Watch this space. And exactly how long does it take for BCP to make a decision, pass it to its ‘cabinet’ and get the work started? Something not quite right here...

Ihave had an interesting dialogue regarding the proposed lighting scheme in Days Park. Part of me wonders how for more than 100 years we managed without all this street lighting and regrets the way in which our darkness is being gradually taken away by housing and the associated infrastructure.

But part of me accepts that if we need houses for people to live in, we have to accept the consequences. And regrettably in this day and age there are too many ne’er-do-wells roaming the streets. Where I grew up in Harmans Cross there were no streetlights until the late 1990s, when a certain person campaigned to have two lamps on the crossroads. A certain person who never went out after dark anyway. A different person who campaigned vociferously for the hated ‘30 limit’ on the main road and, having achieved his aim, left the country!

All I can say is, you came here because you didn’t like it there, and now you want to change here to be like there! You are welcome here, only don’t try to make here like there. If you want to make here like there, you shouldn’t have left there in the first place.

So good to see that the community awards in Swanage have been made to such deserving recipients.

I don’t know if Wareham has a similar scheme and look forward to receiving information about it, if it exists. I can’t mention them all, but will make an exception for Swanage and Purbeck Development Trust, which has achieved so much in such a short time and continues to do so. To Bob, Kim, Mel, James, David and Deirdre – you’re the backbone of this community and an example to us all.

And, of course, the redoubtable Frank Roberts, without whose efforts we would be walking and driving through a sea of rubbish!

And in case you didn’t know... Eco Sustainable Solutions has published its 2021 Sustainability Report.

Eco has been providing BCP and Dorset with waste solutions for almost 30 years and the release of this report gives us an insight into how much we are throwing away and the amazing work it is doing to make waste more sustainable.

The headline points are that in 2021 it prevented 147,714 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere, recycled more than 236,500 tonnes of waste and produced 4,200-plus homes worth of electricity by recycling in excess of 40,400 tonnes of food waste.

The first stage of the new Swanage Seafront masterplan will be discussed fairly soon.

The ‘masterplan’ will help the town council and partners to develop investment plans to improve the seafront, enhancing and protecting its heritage and the coastal environment.

It will also identify new commercial opportunities to meet visitor and resident needs. And no doubt be accompanied by legions of consultants with fees for this, that and the other before even a sod is turned. Agricultural and horticultural experts. Bird and bat surveys.

It’s not their fees that concern me over much – it’s just the time all this takes. Look at BCP and the crematorium! Some of us probably won’t live to see it finished, but after all the plans and consultations we have had over the years, let’s hope this is the right one. And the last one!