LETTERS: 'Caught speeding twice on road council seems to have forgotten'

To send your own letter, email bfpletters@london.newsquest.co.uk.

Please note, any letters sent to the Bucks Free Press office are only being picked up periodically as all staff are still working from home.

Road forgotten by council

Why has somebody taken down all the public speed notifications on the road the council seem to have forgotten?

Parkway, in Marlow, which leads from the motorway onto The Globe industrial estate and through to The Crown Plaza Hotel - has no speed signs from start to finish.

Yet must be a road hundreds of people use every single day.

Members of the public had kindly put up handmade speed signs which, during lockdown, seem to have been removed.

Who takes responsibility for this road? Why are there no speed signs? And why has somebody removed all the helpful handmade signs kindly put up by the public to remind drivers that whilst this road in no way indicates it would be a 30 mph limit, that’s exactly what it is.

I would love to know how much the council are making out of fining drivers on this road.

I myself have been fined twice for doing just over 40mph because in no way does it look like a 30mph road.

Sarah Templeton, High Wycombe

The whole town is proud of the Chairboys

On behalf of The Rotary Club of High Wycombe I am writing to congratulate Gareth Ainsworth, the players and everyone at Wycombe Wanderers for their magnificent achievement in being promoted to The Championship following the brilliant result against Oxford at Wembley.

Wycombe Wanderers have shown us all what a fantastic club it is and the whole town are so proud of their achievement for not only winning promotion but for all they do in the community.

The Rotary Club are keen supporters of the Club with a number of our members having been season ticket holders for many years.

We all look forward to next season and let us hope that the fans will soon be able to attend games to support the team as they compete in this higher division – who knows this time next year the Club could be in the Premiership!

Congratulations.

Tony Mealing, president of Rotary Club of High Wycombe

Devastating emotional impact of referendum

I'm writing to let you know that there's a new edition of the heartbreaking, non-profit book, In Limbo, the personal testimonies of some of the people from the rest of Europe in the UK.

There is a new section on the UK's so-called 'settled status'.

The first edition, compiled by Elena Remigi in 2017, is already an important piece of social history. It describes the devastating emotional impact of the 2016 referendum - and the denial of security

suffered by those who tried to get permanent residency and were refused.

"We came in good faith. We are not criminals. We have done nothing wrong", said one. A woman, who I met at Wycombe's Pulse of Europe, wrote, "I cried at the dentist today. I don't cry easily and it came as a surprise".

On permanent residency, repeated testimonies reported, "We are one of countless families who have been unable to get permanent residency because we have all broken a very little publicised rule. We have not had 'comprehensive sickness insurance'", required under EU rules - and no, being able to use the NHS doesn't count; being married to a UK citizen doesn't count.

"The choices that we made to protect our family are now threatening our future. It is difficult to find words to express how that feels".

Since 2017, the new 'settled status' has been brought in. Even this is unsatisfactory, because it's online only, and you don't get a card.

Unlike cards issued under the Windrush scheme, "You get nothing you can put on the table", said Axel Antoni, spokesman of the3million.org.uk, at a Pulse of Europe meeting on the street in Wycombe's town centre.

Phil Jones, Member, European Movement UK, Bourne End

MPs need to practice what they preach

While MPs urge office workers and school youngsters – including adult secondary school pupils – to return to work as normal they fail to do so themselves. Not even masked!

If ever you wanted to see MPs’ utter incompetence and hypocrisy writ large, today’s PM’s Questions [September 2] at noon was a prime example.

What’s happened to ‘practise what you preach’ and, given actions speak louder than words, leading by example?

If in the light of developing information Covid-19 can be objectively shown to be less harmful than initially thought, then let the PM do a press conference setting out all the evidence, and announce to the nation that all restrictions, including for MPs, are ended immediately.

If, as would appear to be the case from NHS experts and food factory workers still wrapping themselves from head to toe like Christmas presents in ecologically polluting and costly PPE, Covid-19 is a risk and therefore the spread of it needs to be limited, then policies need to be consistent towards that end, and school pupils with their teachers shouldn’t be being unnecessarily exposed, but continuing distance learning.

Make up your mind PM! Stand and deliver!

David Meacock, Chalfont St Peter

Acting for store workers everywhere

News that from August 24, employees in Tesco Express and Metro stores will be expected to undertake cleaning duties is a stark reminder that these staff are undervalued, overlooked and vulnerable to stereotypical assumptions.

Cleaning is often characterised as women’s work, and reinforces the belief that retail work is a female role. There have been no such reports of similar measures being implemented in the distribution centres.

This is a matter of health and safety and should not be seen as an opportunity to reduce costs. The decision is particularly galling when it has been widely reported that supermarket sales have been at a record high during Coronavirus.

For years, Leigh Day has been acting on behalf of store workers, most of whom are women, who we claim are paid unfairly in comparison to their predominantly male distribution centre colleagues.

We hear first-hand from our clients, how physically and emotionally demanding retail work already is, and this is an added pressure that staff shouldn’t have to meet.

Instead of having more work piled on top of them, store workers should be given the recognition, respect and pay they deserve.

Lara Kennedy, solicitor in the Leigh Day Tesco Equal Pay team

New services to help families

Recent research from the Disabled Children’s Partnership found that 72 per cent of families with disabled children in the South East of England have been providing a lot more care during lockdown and many continue to do so despite restrictions easing.

The current national emergency has compounded the challenges many parents of disabled children faced. And added layers of new ones as respite, therapies, care and schooling arrangements have been largely stopped or changed and usual routines are disrupted.

Contact, the UK charity for families with disabled children, is offering a helping hand to families in Buckinghamshire during this difficult time.

Family support appointments: We've launched free 1-1 telephone appointments with a family support adviser for parent carers looking for a listening ear, reassurance and practical and emotional support.

Workshops: We are running free virtual workshops on topics such as sleep, behaviour, wellbeing, money matters, and speech and language, to provide additional support for families who may be struggling during this crisis.

Families who have a disabled child can make an appointment or find out more details on the Contact website www.contact.org.uk/covid-response-services

Amanda Batten, chief executive of Contact charity

Digital education scheme for pupils

MY name is Louie, I am 16 years old and I am the Chair of the Board of Directors (Youth) for hope3g.com.

When the coronavirus pandemic forced the world into lockdown, twelve children aged between nine and seventeen had a mission; launching a free-to-use, free-to-access digital education platform for children across the globe.

Through hope3g.com, we are making sure children all over the world are still learning, even if schools are closed; creating a world where every child from every country has access to the same world-class teaching.

We have built a free-to-use, free-to-access digital education platform which will allow children everywhere to catch up on the education that coronavirus has forced them to miss.

Not only this, but it gives children anywhere in the globe access to world-leading lessons and educational content, letting us move towards the eradication of educational inequality.

To date, we have spent just £45 (on a pizza party!) and have partnered with magic-circle legal firms, the world’s largest investment banks and accountants, and have worked tirelessly to build a platform that should have cost millions.

The HOPE mission is a collaborative initiative driven by children, made possible by adults. I can’t tell you how amazing it is to think back to how we started off as 12 children with no money and are now building a global organisation. We have 2,000 student volunteers worldwide and work in a six-storey HALKIN office building near Blackfriars Bridge. We even have servers provided to us from Jeff Bezos from Amazon!

We want to encourage people to get involved with the platform by making an account to share and learn from the lessons we have available and even make content of their own! If you’re under 18 then you can join the board and contribute to the running of our platform.

There’s space for everyone to be a part of our mission! Once we’re set up, there will also be the opportunity to donate to HOPE through the platform, which we would, of course, encourage everyone to do!

I can’t wait to hear from everyone! Thank you for helping us share our passion for education as a birthright for children across the world!

Louie, Chair of the Board of Directors (Youth)