letters Please send your letters to rt.fermor@googlemail.com or by post to <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Cake</strong>, Cranbrook and Sissinghurst <strong>Parish</strong> Council, The Old Fire Station, Stone Street, Cranbrook, TN17 3HF. Please note, letters may be published in a shortened form at the discretion of the editor. Thank you for the Support FURTHER TO Cllr. Garry Pethurst’s article “Blown Away by Support” in the summer <strong>2020</strong> edition of <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Cake</strong>, I am writing to endorse his remarks concerning support for the vulnerable members of the community. As my wife and I come into this category we wish to express our warmest thanks to Cllr. Andy Fairweather and all his helpers for the wonderful support we have received from the Sissinghurst community: the meals delivered from the Milk House, the great service and deliveries from the Village TN17 shop and the kindness of friends and neighbours in shopping for us at all times, not forgetting the odd treat such as Rebecca Smith and her team delivering a cream strawberry tea on VE Day, were all greatly appreciated. With very best wishes to all concerned. Alison and Geoffrey Cunningham, Sissinghurst A Foul Problem DURING THE four months of lockdown a walk in my nearby 'Angley Woods' became a welcomed family outing. What should be a safe, picturesque adventure looking up at the trees and wildlife has quickly become an unpleasant game of 'dodge the dog poop' with my children. As you approach the entrance of the public footpath of Angley Road you are immediately met by the unpleasant scent of o'de dog poop, which even a dog owner would agree is a foul one. Dog defecation lines the public walkway or, on my last walk. a large amount right in the middle of the path. As a mother of two I certainly would not leave my house without a nappy Would you use a Free Outdoor Gym? AS PART of my work for Kent Sport I have been trying to identify the barriers that stop some people from Cranbrook and Sissinghurst being more physically active and one of those appears to be the cost of exercise classes. It led me to wonder if we could install some outdoor gym equipment in one of the parks and, if we did, would it get used? Tunbridge Wells has four outdoor gyms, which are completely free to use and accessible for all ages and abilities. There are apps that you can download to record your fitness progress and all equipment has easy-to-follow instructions. I see no reason why one of these modern facilities couldn’t be successful in our parish, either on the Ball Field near the play area or in the Crane Valley near the proposed new community centre. In February, I attended the launch of the outdoor gym in Calverley and allow my baby to defecate on the public footpath. Not only is not picking up dog foul illegal but it poses a serious health risk to other animals and humans. Contact with dog excrement can cause 'Toxocariasis', a nasty infection that can lead to nausea, diarrhoea and in rare cases more serious conditions. After our recent encounters with Covid-19 and the risk posed on our health we should all be vigilant on keeping each other safe. With social distancing measures still enforced one quite often has to step to the side or off the footpath in Angley to maintain a safe distance and how one could do this without trekking home with dog poop on their shoe would be a sheer miracle. On a recent walk I lost count at the amount of poop as you can see in my Park, Tunbridge Wells, and was really impressed by the range of equipment. Not only is there cardio equipment, such as the skiing machine and hand cycle, and strength equipment that uses your body weight as resistance, but also a large frame which allows more advanced users to build muscle tone. It is well worth having a look next time you are in the town. The Calverley project cost about £20k so, in order to gauge whether or not this is something the residents of the parish would like, my colleagues from the Health Improvement Team at TWBC have created a short survey which can be accessed at bit.ly/Cranbrook_Outdoor_ Gym It would be really helpful if you could take a couple of minutes to fill this in, many thanks. Mark Lawrence, your Everyday Active Champion attached photo and feel now that this surely has become a cause for public health. I have often had to clean dog poop from my children's shoes, bike and our buggy. At a time when we should all be striving for better fitness and courtesy to our neighbours is it really so much to ask a dog owner to take a moment bend down to retrieve their dog’s poop, or at the very least flick it into the overgowth and off the path? A sign at the entrance to the woods asks all to take away what they bring. This is not being read or upheld. Better signage is needed at the entrance and along the main footpath along with appropriate dog bins to contain waste. Name supplied 20 <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Autumn</strong> <strong>2020</strong>
Dulwich Spirit Encouraging innovation and independence, building confidence and resilience dulwichprepcranbrook.org SALES AND SERVICE M&A Brown & Sons Ltd, Iden Green Farm, Cranbrook Road, Goudhurst, Kent TN17 2PA info@mabg.co.uk ✆ 01580 211599 www.mabg.co.uk <strong>Parish</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Autumn</strong> <strong>2020</strong> 21
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