JOHN ARCHER
Ohakune
Praise for The Vicar
Congratulations to Chris McKenzie, cast members and everyone involved in producing such a wonderful The Vicar of Dibley show. We laughed from start to finish. The casting was spot on, set fantastic and outfits amazing, especially Letitia's hats. I wholeheartedly recommend this show to anyone who wants a rollicking good time.
MARGARET WILKINS
Springvale
Harbour funding
Re correspondence (June 14) on the Harbour Endowment Fund.
Many thanks to the Whanganui District Council for the rapid response. We now know the said fund exists and its purpose, but where was it spent and how much? The overall appearance of the port is one of neglect and disrepair.
There are still unanswered questions.
During the period of the port being leased to private enterprise (about 20 years) what happened to endowment monies?
Who was responsible for maintenance? Also, rumour has it that the fund is inviolate, not to be sold off, or if so, to be reimbursed to the same value. Is this still the case?
On good authority, the 1980 return was $100,000. That was 39 years ago!
Can anyone enlighten us, please?
ERIC PARKER
Castlecliff
Altered states
Martin Hanson (letters June 21) says no one argues for a ban on alcohol. I do.
Alcohol and cannabis are both dangerous substances that cause immense damage to individuals and society.
We don't need mind-altering drugs unless we're unhappy with our current state, agreed?
ANGELA STRATTON
Wanganui
Article sparks musings
Whanganui has lost one of its All Blacks to old age, a gentleman of the highest order, I am told, and the members of the union he led at Affco were pleased he kept them working when leaders were shutting other works down.
There is more enlightenment in the article on him, and it is an observation on climate change. During his 1953-54 All Black tour he had to play on straw laid to cover the snow. Scotland, shortly after, laid an electric blanket under the soil to warm it.
The planet at that time was going through a cold period alarming the scaremonger types. They had a meeting in 1970 to announce the disaster they said we were facing, the world would be out of fossil fuel and 4 degrees colder by the year 2000.
They missed the boat. It was already warming, so their tune changed to global warming. When that stalled for 20 years, it became climate change and now it has become climate degradation.
We now have satellites and TV that beam pretty photos into our homes, telling us what is going to happen. Even then, they get it wrong sometimes.
The ferocious storm did not make landfall; back in the day we would not have known it had existed.
In the past some nations were ashamed of natural disasters, so they kept them secret. When they could no longer do that, they realised they could gain financial help by crying disaster so their cries have got louder.
Disaster sells, the bigger, the better.
G R SCOWN
Whanganui
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