Help Sitemap Home Skip Navigation Contact Us Disability Statement

yeomans
 
 
Thursday, 2nd September 2010

Let's hear it for Horace

Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image
Click on thumbnail to view image

Published Date: 26 June 2009
EXCUSE the pun, but I certainly tip my hat to plans for a fund to be set up to erect a statue of the late Horace Duke.
The much missed "man on the bike" was truly a one-off and his unique contribution to Worthing certainly needs marking.

Memories of him in his straw hat, monocle and plus-fours are part of many of our childhoods.

Mention Worthing to anyone who doesn't live here but have visited, and more often not they will recall Horace in his various locations.

But it obviously throws up the question which of Horace's favoured locations should be the site for the statue?

Offington Corner? Thomas A'Becket crossroads?

Personally, I believe his status in the town is so iconic that the town centre, possibly even the concourse outside the Guildborne, would be the best place to have it?

Wheelie bin snobs

THE Daily Mail, which historically actually welcomed Adolf Hitler's election as German Chancellor in 1933, have embarked on yet another of their 'legendary' campaigns.

"Not in our front yard" sees the Mail wage war on the wheelie bin, but, in my opinion, their stance is borne out of nothing more than snobbery.

I love the wheelie bin, it has transformed our refuse-collection process and I have serious problems working out why anyone would be against them.

Just look at what they have achieved since hitting our streets.

Gone are the days when residents put all their rubbish out the night before, only for the local fox population to embark on random midnight feasts resulting in early-morning Worthing having the contents of the said black bags strewn all over the pavements and roads.

It looked horrible, unsightly, and perhaps actually bringing the little bit of snob out in me not how I wanted the town I live in to look like.

Even without the foxes tucking in, "black bag town" didn't look nice, so what the wheelie bins have done is a huge step in the right direction.

The crux of the Mail's campaign is that they don't like them outside people's front doors, but not everybody has rear access on their properties, and given the alternative, is one day a week when the dustman come really that much of a hardship?

It is all about opinions so I have to respect what the Mail is saying, but I don't have to agree with it, so in answer to their tag line as for your campaign, Mr Daily Mail Editor, "Not in my back or even front yard sir".

Who is responsible?

SHOCK, horror, the council cabinet states they think that the actions of the NCP wardens are stopping people visiting the town centre.

When I read this news, I was almost as surprised as the day I found out Terry Wogan was Irish.

Apologies if this question appears rhetorical, but who actually was responsible for employing NCP to look after our street-parking?

When West Sussex County Council and Worthing Borough Council took over parking enforcement from the police, they could have taken the service on in-house, rather than putting it out to tender.

Yes, perhaps in the short time it might have cost a bit more, but what about the long term cost to the town centre?

To use a footballing analogy, 20 years ago Graham Taylor was manager at Aston Villa and found his team 2-0 nil down at half time to then 4th division Crewe Alexandra in the FA Cup.

Taylor's team talk, with numerous finger-pointing, at the interval was " You (The players) got me into this mess, so you get me out of it"*

So my suggestion to council leader Keith Mercer is it's time to play hard ball and find the ways and means to jettison the NCP wardens, have a council warden scheme, and actually make people want to come back and park in the town.

In the short-term, it is paramount that Mr Mercer puts his foot down and gets a 48-hour parking amnesty for the upcoming Birdman Rally weekend, and even more so then publicises the fact that parking in town will be free for the event.

  • Villa eventually won 3-2.



-------------------------------------
Click here to go back to Harty on the news.

Where are you? Add your pin to the Herald's international readers' map by clicking here.

Email the Herald: letters@worthingherald.co.uk

Click here for the Herald staff directory.

Want to read this page in French, German, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese, Urdu or 48 other languages? click here for Google translate.




Page 1 of 1

  • Last Updated: 25 June 2009 12:30 PM
  • Source: n/a
  • Location: Worthing
 
 

Comment on this Story

 

In order to post comments you must Register or Sign In

 
 
 
 


Sister Newspapers:
Press Complaints Commission

This website and its associated newspaper adheres to the Press Complaints Commission’s Code of Practice. If you have a complaint about editorial content which relates to inaccuracy or intrusion, then contact the Editor by clicking here.

If you remain dissatisfied with the response provided then you can contact the PCC by clicking here.