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Local Pride Can Save Us From Fall!
Posted by Julie Voyce on June 26, 2008 3:42 PM
By Mary Schwartz
DRIVING through Chalfont St Peter this week, I have been stirred by real feelings of local pride as I am saluted by the army of white flags lining the terraces of Gold Hill shopping parade.
These flags appear every year to mark the feast day of Saint Peter and Saint Paul on June 29, as a warm celebration of our village’s namesake. They decorate our communal sense of local pride and you do not have to go far to experience the friendly welcome of shopkeepers or to see The Greyhound’s chalk board advertising their “You’ve Got Talent” competition this coming Thursday. This promotional evening, hosted by one of Chalfont’s liveliest pubs and the hubbub of much local socialising, is a fun, light-hearted way to celebrate home-grown talent and personality. Such evenings promote local community spirit and I feel privileged to have grown up in an area with such charisma and charm.
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And Another Thing: Understanding the data
Posted by Julie Voyce on June 16, 2008 12:53 PM
OVER the last few weeks the Advertiser and Examiner has printed a number of letters about public sector final salary pension schemes. Many are from members of the public evidently scanning the web and regurgitating data which they obviously don't understand and thus comment inaccurately and out of context. Thus your paper is nurturing a theme which is deviating from the truth.
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On The Beat: Chesham NAG
Posted by Julie Voyce on June 16, 2008 12:51 PM
Chesham Neighbourhood Group (NAG) held their second meeting on Tuesday, June 3 at the Chesham Town Hall and laid down plans to tackle anti-social behaviour.
Looking into actions that were set in the first meeting, the NAG identified key causes of public disorder in the neighbourhood.
Gary Blackburn, the local Neighbourhood Specialist Officer (NSO) said: "The main concern here is to stop underage drinking and alcohol related disorder. The same will apply to the problems associated with mini motorbikes."
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Pension black hole
Posted by Julie Voyce on June 6, 2008 10:39 AM
HERE is a true horror story: the black hole in the UK's public sector pensions. This colossal hidden deficit will starve British industry of investment and impoverish the wealth-creating portion of the economy for decades to come. While New Labour likes to talk about equality, a vast gulf is opening up between the retirement rules and provisions in the public and the private sectors. And the private sector has to fund the lot.
More than 5m state workers participate in open final salary pension schemes; thanks to the decline of defined benefit occupational schemes, only half a million private sector workers are members of plans that remain open. Local and central government run their schemes for National Health Service workers, teachers, the civil service, the army, police and fire service on an unfunded basis. This means none of these vast liabilities is provided for in national accounts.
Contributions are not saved and invested, but spent. This is far worse off-balance-sheet hanky- panky than that carried out by the banks, which have been so heavily criticised by the prime
minister for shoddy accounting.
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“….and another thing !” Public Sector Pensions
Posted by Julie Voyce on May 29, 2008 5:07 PM
By Chris Mellor
John Lowe, in particular, and Preston Colville seek for the Examiner to disseminate the truth and encourage reasoned debate on public sector pensions (BE Letters May 29). Both fail badly at the first hurdle in this regard by being sparing and misleading with the full truth.
Mr Lowe fails to point out that public sector employees can retire on a pension PLUS a tax free cash lump sum equal to three-eightieths of final salary for each year’s contributions. Broadly accepted to be the overall equivalent of a pension equating to two thirds of final salary for a forty year working period. I see little relevance in Mr Lowe pointing out that there is a cap on service at 45 years. Work 45 years and a public sector employee gets a full pension !
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On The Beat: Chiltern Local Police Area
Posted by Julie Voyce on May 20, 2008 12:13 PM
POLICE are reminding residents to secure their sheds and garages in a bid to deter opportunist thieves this spring as the gardening season is picking up.
Mr Mike Levine, Crime Reduction Adviser at Amersham police station, said: “Many sheds whilst being of good construction fall short on basic security. It is easy to unscrew the ironmongery, steal contents and in some cases replace the screws to make it look as if the shed has not been tampered with.
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In The Chair with Toby Ingham
Posted by Julie Voyce on May 12, 2008 10:17 AM
A woman I'll call Carol, flinches whenever a car races past her; three years ago her husband was run over and killed by a reckless driver. The driver was given a brief custodial sentence and a year driving ban, but for Carol everything changed - for her his death is a life sentence.
She feels terribly alone. She still does some of the things she used to do with him, she lives in the house they lived in, but she is alone now and it no longer seems like a home. She still has his car, she can't bear to part with it but she can't afford to keep it. She is sometimes angry with him - why wasn't he more careful that day? These feelings make her feel guilty and disloyal to him.
Their friends were kind and patient with her but despite their best intentions she felt awkward, no longer part of a couple. She felt like a bore always talking about her loss, but it is often the only thing on her mind, so after a while she stopped talking to them about it. Recently her doctor has prescribed sleeping pills which do help. People tell her they know how she feels, that they've been through it, but they haven't, they didn't lose him. His death has shaken her confidence in everything. She knew grief was natural and painful but she didn't know it was such an exhausting emotion. At first Carol had some brief counselling but she couldn't really take to it, she just couldn't find the motivation. It didn't feel like there was anything brief about her situation.
We behave as though we know so much, as though so much of life is certain.
We get used to the notion that we can fix everything quickly, that everything in life can be improved and made better, but not everything can be made better. Some things just have to be endured and lived with, through time we may find a way of accepting things but these events will always be a part of who we are.
Every time a car speeds past Carol she still can't help wishing it would slow down.
Toby Ingham
UKCP Psychotherapist & Counsellor
www.counsellingbuckinghamshire.co.uk
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