Bah Humbug!!

I was looking forward to reading the January issue of the Wendover News but immediately saw that the front page had been hi-jacked by the “Bah Humbug” brigade! Under the title “Happy New Year – New Year Celebrations”, our Parish Clerk had decided that the good people of Wendover actually needed a bit of a lecture on the personal risk involved of attending an unauthorised event at the Clock Tower on New Year’s Eve and the possibility of landing a personal fine of up to £5,000 if they decided to use fireworks.

Maybe the Parish Council’s “To Do” list has been scattered with Health & Safety issues during 2013 bearing in mind the litigious society we now live in or maybe Ebeneezer Scrooge has now become the Parish Council’s role model. Either way, I really despair! The Clock Tower celebrations on New Year’s Eve sit at the heart of the community and make Wendover the delightfully unique place that it is. Without this event, unofficial as it is, Wendover would be a poorer place and any organisation that goes out of its way to discourage people from attending by threatening them with words such as “completely at their own risk” should hang its head in shame. And even once we had been lectured on the risk of attending this event, we were then asked if we were prepared to volunteer for the clear-up. If that was the purpose of the article then why not ask us that in a way that is genuinely supportive of the enjoyment that this event provides for so many – I’m sure volunteers will come forward, after all, the people of Wendover genuinely care about their village and the traditions we have.