Letters: Drinking habits there for all to see

Drinking habits are out there for all to see, says a reader. Photo/File

It has always (until recently) been something that we could keep private - our little secret.

Go to the liquor store, buy your preferred booze which would be wrapped or bagged discretely and you could take it home and consume it at your leisure safe in the knowledge that you and your close friends and loved ones alone knew your little secret.

Alas, no more. Thanks to the wonderful new way we dispose of our rubbish all the empties - beer, wine or spirit, are there for all to see every other week, the neat and tidy blue bin is available for all who pass (especially dog walkers) to see and assess your level of 'boozing'.

And I was absolutely staggered to see how much several of my neighbours consume! Just another of life's secrets laid bare.

Jim Adams
Rotorua

Mover and shaker

It took a mover and a shaker like Tiny Deans to finally bring a shelter to fruition.

It took a hikoi and a public shaming to get the council off their backsides.

Lesley Haddon
Rotorua

Footpaths dangerous

As a pensioner who has recently undergone major heart surgery, driving our car is limited.

I have a mobility scooter which I use regularly to go from the Eastside into town.

I would like to draw the attention of the Rotorua Lakes District Council to the conditions of the footpaths.

In some areas they are, in my view, appalling and dangerous. There are cracks and the paths have lifted, and in the paths with a bitumix surface there are huge potholes.

When you go from the path on to road and back on to the path, the danger of tipping is possible because of the dip.

We are not allowed to use the cycle lanes which allows us a smoother ride. I have spoken to other owners of mobility scooters from other suburbs, and they share the same disgust as I do.

Therefore I would like to ask the Rotorua Lakes District Council on behalf of all owners of mobility scooters, please repair our footpaths make them safer for us to use. (Abridged)

Harold Hunt
Owhata