I WOULD like to appeal a traffic penalty on behalf of a volunteer.

In Seaton at the weekend, one of the lasses that has been crocheting solidly for the past two weeks in order to cheer up the village and lift spirits for Valentine’s Day was given a parking ticket, after parking outside the library.

She was only parked there for a few minutes on Saturday while she positioned some of the crocheted hearts.

We formed a group and over the last five years have done things to cheer up residents for different occasions such as Christmas, Easter, Remembrance Day, Mothers’ Day and St Valentine’s Day.

We put all the effort in and pay for materials out of our own pockets and to top it all she was an NHS nurse taking the time to put the hearts up on her day off.

She took two or three minutes and was actually walking back to her car, but the warden said “I’ve waited long enough”. It has just sickened me completely.

It makes you wonder if it is all worthwhile.

Please rescind her parking ticket, whoever is responsible.

KEN SLONE

Seaton parish councillor

Politics in the gutter

I SHOULD like to take issue with a certain Labour councillor and his constant, malicious hate campaign against hard-working, decent Independent councillors, which now seems to be spiralling out of control after his latest public ‘revelations’ about our members.

It is surprising that the local Labour group are so desperate to win the next round of elections that they will turn a blind eye to his actions and allow abusive means to achieve this. Shame on them.

This councillor, who I won’t name as he can disgrace himself more easily than I ever could, states that the Independents are denying ‘thousands of people’ in Workington representation on committees or in the mayoralty.

May I remind him that not every councillor can be on committees, but all members have given an undertaking to represent everyone in their wards, including those who didn’t vote for them.

Instead of reflecting on why Labour weren’t successful last time and coming up with a positive strategy for improving life for our local residents, it appears that they have nothing else to offer the electorate than to try to blacken the opposition by any means possible!

I am truly saddened that our local politics have descended to the lowest level of the gutter, especially when we have a responsibility to work together to achieve as much as we can for our local area and to improve people’s lives as well as we can during these awful times.

JANET KING

Councillor for Stainburn

Spread of the virus

The letter from Councillor Lywood of Keswick on the Covid pandemic (Times & Star, January 28) contains seeds of the truth which require closer inspection.

This virus came from China. When Boris Johnson was campaigning in the December 2019 general election, he did not know it but he was losing control of this pandemic and he never recovered from it.

The Chinese government lied about this virus deliberately and consistently to anybody who would listen to them.

In November 2019, Chinese naval captains were being notified to look out for the virus amongst their crew while at the same time Chinese tourists were travelling the world, spreading the virus.

The decision to spread the virus was effectively taken at the highest level of the Chinese government.

With the benefit of hindsight, the British Government should have closed the airports of this country to all Chinese passport holders as soon as the virus was discovered and forbidden travel on British planes anywhere in the world.

Only by containing the Chinese population within the boundaries of China did we stand any chance of containing the virus and it would have worked.

The UK is an international communications hub. By keeping our airports open to Chinese passport holders we allowed their government to spread the virus. That is why UK death rates are some of the highest in the world.

We could have isolated China much more easily and cheaply than we could isolate the UK.

To do it would have required an understanding of the virus and the Chinese government and a collection of political gumption the UK government did not possess.

The price of that failure is more than 100,000 dead and half a trillion pounds spent trying to suppress the virus which, once established in the general population, was impossible to eradicate.

The highly competent ways in which the government have procured and vaccinated the population is a point in their favour.

First you appoint a leader, then you teach them how to be one. Boris Johnson has had a very expensive Chinese education in this pandemic. Let us hope he was paying attention and learned all the necessary lessons from it because to repeat these mistakes again would be absolutely unforgiveable.

ROY IVINSON

Silloth

Captain, gentleman, hero

Having served the United Kingdom

with pride during World War Two,

In our darkest hour of peacetime,

one man’s exploits shone true.

Through these difficult times, there

are some who have merely talked the talk.

But this fellow’s actions spoke louder

each day he walked the walk.

One hundred laps in the garden, along

with historic pop chart success

delivered thirty nine million

pounds for our treasured NHS.

For his phenomenal achievements

came so many deserved awards.

From The Queen bestowing a knighthood

to a flypast by the Royal Air Force.

This centenarian’s proud virtues

of determination and kindness

can serve as THE inspiration for all

emerging from this present darkness.

Goodbye, Captain Tom. Thank you, Sir

from a proud and grateful UK.

We shall always live by your famous words

Tomorrow WILL be a good day.

JOHN HASTINGS

Workington

A great friend

For over 20 years, a loud and unreliably tuneful whistle has accompanied my life on Kirkgate. Peter Rothwell was a key character of central Cockermouth.

A driving force behind the Kirkgate Centre for many years, Peter seemed to know everyone and everything that was going on. He understood our old houses and was the go-to painter and handyman. And he also found time to care for Ron and also help out many other people.

He was a great friend.

Covid-19 took Peter far, far too soon. All my best wishes go to his wife, Jan, and to all his family.

For those who would like to clap or pay respects to Peter in any other way, his funeral cortege will travel through town next Monday, February 15, coming down Kirkgate about 12.40 and then through Market Place and Main Street, heading up Station Street and then round by his home.

REBECCA HANSON

County Councillor (Cockermouth North)