a beautiful coastline

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Our August reminders: - 


When my elder daughters were young, I was running my own business, and often took them to the playground. Nearly thirty years later, they still remember those days. I was saddened to read this article because it brought home how things have changed since then and, without seeming like an ageing nostalgic, in this respect, for the worst. As a relatively new grandparent, I am looking forward to revisiting those parenting experiences by taking the “grandkids” to the park - something I have seen other grandparents greatly enjoy.  Locally we are more fortunate, for example Selsey Town Council is increasing investment in its play parks. 


My eldest daughter is getting married later this year - I recently had a fitting for a suit; needless to say, Donna and I were not surprised to learn that West Sussex is one of the most expensive places to get married in the UK. 


In happier news, a Farm Shop in our District has taken home four Great Taste Awards. Meanwhile West Wittering has been named by The Express as one of the beautiful seaside towns consistently named the UK’s best. The winner, Bamburgh in Northumberland, is somewhere I intend to visit one day because it featured in a Netflix series I enjoyed, The Last Kingdom, and has a beautiful castle.


Donna and I ended up staying somewhere else that is also beautiful for a couple of nights this week. We went to see her favourite band, G4, perform in Lavenham, Suffolk and stayed in the Mill Hotel in nearby Sudbury. It backs on to the fields Gainsborough used for many of his paintings. Lavenham itself is particularly mediaeval and was once very wealthy; it remains largely unchanged because of a market trend as you can read here. We are grateful for the tip from a resident to look at the preserved wall in The Swan,  on which American airmen wrote in World War 2. Having watched The Dig on Netflix, we also went to Sutton Hoo, and, on our way home (because Donna loves gardens and gardening), Audley End to see what Capability Brown achieved there.


Carers, particularly informal ones, can feel guilty about taking a break because they worry what would happen to their cared for, and worry about them when they aren't with them. If you are an informal carer, or know one, read this. 


The parenting years can be characterised as lacking something we all value, sleep; however eating a banana may help as can certain other foods.


Something that can cause parents to lose sleep, is what their children are doing online. Children are more vulnerable to online approaches by potential abusers during the six week summer holidays as they spend more time on the internet when not in school, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Their data reveals that half the children surveyed said they spent three or more hours online during the week in term time, but this rose to 80 per cent when they were out of school. Although this might not necessarily lead to any harm, the ONS warned it could carry “serious risks” for children, with one in six of the children surveyed (aged 10 to 15) saying they had spoken to someone they had never met in person, with one in 20 admitting they had subsequently met up with someone they had only talked to online. Although online exploitation and grooming can be difficult to spot, The Children's Society has produced a useful guide.


The UK Safer Internet Centre has advice on how to stay safe online when you are neurodiverse.


As Get Safe Online warns, public places can be quite dangerous for all of us because criminals use Shoulder Surfing to catch victims entering their phone's PIN before stealing the phone. They then use the PIN to unlock the phone and try the same PIN to access banking apps. They also search the phone's notes section for banking passwords or PINs.  Protect yourself: -

  • Use biometric data (face or finger print) ID if possible.

  • Remove banking apps from your phone and keep them on devices that stay at home.

  • Use different pin numbers for unlocking your phone and banking apps.

  • Don't store passwords or PINs on your phone.

  • Always be aware of your surroundings when accessing financial apps.


You can also use this site to help you be more sure of the businesses you purchase from, and this one to check websites. Citizens Advice also have help for you to check for scams. 


We mentioned last week that it seems environmental measures which place pressure on family budgets have become less welcome, but we are encountering support for other measures like solar panels on new homes. In that respect, I am making progress at seeing if CDC could give independent traders grants to cut overheads by reducing their carbon footprint: I have a meeting with several Officers about this, on Wednesday, when Donna is next at CDC’s Planning Committee. As you may have read, this may be an interesting meeting. You can watch it live here. 


On the subject of Planning, please get in touch early on, because we have three tiers of Councils here, and things can be a bit confusing. For clarity, CDC decides, but applications only go to their Planning Committee if a District Councillor Red Cards it in time, or if your parish, e.g. Selsey Town or Chichester City Councils, object to it, but CDC’s Officers approve.


We also mentioned last week bumping into a Conservative County Councillor and Liberal Democrat campaigners. We should add this week that our MP has been campaigning locally too with press in tow (who briefly, but inaccurately, mention us); Like our MP, Donna and Val were also recently at Seal Bay Resort raising community concerns and forging links. 


Finally: - 


As always, from the whole Team, stay safe.


Tim

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