THE current fuel crisis has proved a number of things, firstly that, despite all the hype about computers and high-tech dealings on the Internet, we are still dependent on a road-based economy where oil, a low-tech product, is still more than a lubricant which literally keeps the wheels of the econo

THE current fuel crisis has proved a number of things, firstly that, despite all the hype about computers and high-tech dealings on the Internet, we are still dependent on a road-based economy where oil, a low-tech product, is still more than a lubricant which literally keeps the wheels of the economy in motion.

Secondly, the fuel shortages have helped to concentrate the collective mind, and people are considering making practical arrangements to deal with these short-term crises. However, the shortages have also vividly brought in to the open the almost primeval reaction of some members of our very sophisticated society, for whom looking after Number One comes before consideration for others.

By the time you read this I am sure you have heard, seen or read about the lengthy queues outside petrol stations still dispensing petrol, and raids on the supermarket shelves removing milk, sugar, bread, eggs and other basics and thereby fuelling (pardon the pun) the shortages.

What I cannot understand is the reason for people to go overboard and respond in an utterly selfish manner and buy more than they need to keep them going for the next few days, when hopefully the situation should ease a little.

It is as if the dark days of the Second World War are still etched in the psyche of some people, the majority of whom were not even born or old enough to remember the real struggle for survival. Instead of hoarding basic food stuffs, why not buy a little less than you need and look for other substitutes so that there is more than enough to go around, especially for the elderly and those who cannot reach the supermarkets.

I believe that these fuel crises may help us to understand that we cannot go around wasting this precious resource. Money is of no use if there is nothing to buy. I therefore, hope that everybody realises that oil is a finite resource and will run out in the latter parts of this century if not in the next 50 years. We should therefore use it sparingly and not waste it unnecessarily. We certainly should not expect it to be made available to us as if it was water.

THE Chesham Pakistani community marked Pakistan's 53rd Independence Day by holding a function last Sunday. The gathering was addressed by Cheryl Gillan, the Chesham and Amersham MP and James Elles MEP, who said he planned a fact-finding trip to Azad Kashmir and Pakistan in the near future. Other guests included the Mayor of High Wycombe, Cllr Mahboob Hussain, the Mayor of Chesham Town, Cllr Don Phillips, and Raja Amir Dad Khan, executive producer of Mehfil, the weekly Asian-language programme on Wycombe Radio elevenSEVENTY. Cllr Zafeer Bhatti spoke for the host community and highlighted the plight of people living in Indian-occupied Kashmir.