Many congratulations to Jane and Kevin Brooking of Occasional Cards for being short-listed for the South West's top award for independent card retailers. Thank you Jane for encouraging everyone to shop locally: In Fore St Kingsbridge alone there are several family Businesses.

Congratulations to local Primary Schools: Three are featured under' South Hams village schools that truly care' and another was visited by South West Devon MP Rebecca Smith who said it was a truly uplifting experience: The school strives to help every child reach their potential in many other ways besides academically.

Rebecca recently wrote a column celebrating the contribution of coastal communities concluding 'We can be proud of the contribution our corner of Devon makes to national life': Absolutely! Two other primary schools excelled in photography, inspired by internationally acclaimed photographer Martin Norsworthy of Kingsbridge. Then I read about Anwen Whitehead 2024 winner of the RSPCA Young Photographer Award Under-18s.

Kingsbridge Community College welcomed a distinguished group of educators from The Netherlands to observe how KCC puts educational research into practice: Geweldig!

Congratulations to our three 2025 Community Champions: I nominated Kingsbridge Care Hub writing about all their activities on six days a week.

Thank you for twenty-four beautiful photographs of the Devon County Show: Congratulations to Ben Darke for receiving the top award with his sheep.

Congratulations to St Mary's church Charleton for your amazing first Flower Festival, and thanks for the yummy cakes! I also really enjoyed the Malborough Scarecrow Trail advertised in the Gazette.

Having read the article about leading end-of-life charity Marie Curie calling on golfers, I called Mandy Fosbrooke: She called me back and I told her that my brother-in-law had died at a Marie Curie Hospice (London) and my mum had Martie Curie care for the last few nights or her life(Exmouth). Mandy told me that Dainton Park Golf Club already supported them and I said that I was there recently for a wake where over £10,000 was raised for Rowcroft Hospice.

Following the shock to everyone when 100 trees were felled one night in Plymouth, how wonderful to read that 35,000 new trees were planted and now Plymouth has gained the accolade of Tree City of the World.

Energy Sec/y Ed Milliban has halted the building of solar panels and wind turbines as 95% of the parts used come from slave labour: Ed strongly asserted that this is abhorrent. So I was perturbed to read an article extolling the virtues of Solar Farms quoting research from several universities back in 2022 and 2023.

Our MP Caroline Voaden is quoted as saying that if the Government does away with the bus fare cap it would add insult to injury for the elderly: So I sent off to her a petition with signatures I had collected requesting the Government to instruct Stagecoach to re-instate the 9.30am Kingsbridge to Dartmouth service when the elderly, disabled, students and carers can use our bus passes: We now have to travel at 8.50am. Only to discover that Stagecoach has been bought by a German company!

Ruth Brooking

Kingsbridge

Every week we have the opinionated views of Geoffrey Brooking pontificating about how, in his 'brainwashed' opinion, the Labour Party is wonderfully performing.

Two-tier and two-timing Kier has ruined democracy in the UK. His one and only primary concern is to stay in No10 no matter what. If it means telling untruths and demeaning the British Public, so what.

He reneges on all the promises he made during the general election campaign and his latest tragedy is the slipperiness of taking us back into the EU despite a referendum of the people taking us out.

How can this be allowed. Some of those who didn’t vote for Brexit accepted the democratic decision and decided to work with it rather than against it. It was never going to be easy with dominant, stubborn Europeans.

For a British Prime Minister to concede so much for so little when, clearly, Europe needs British support and expertise in managing their complex rules and administration is baffling.

The idealist changes this government is forcing through are not reflecting positively for the majority who didn’t vote for Labour.

Ralph Clark

Via Email

Imagine you lost your child because of a reckless driver or negligent medical care. It is every parent’s nightmare, and in this case, it was entirely avoidable. You then discover that your relationship to your child is not considered close enough to have that loss acknowledged through statutory bereavement compensation.

This is the case for a bereaved father in England and Wales if he was not married to his child’s mother at the time of the birth. Almost half of couples having babies this year are not married or in a civil partnership. The law is woefully out of touch.

It is not just a legal problem. The acceptance of modern family relationships is a serious societal issue.

The law is so rigid that many relatives are denied compensation if the closest person to them dies due to the negligence of someone else. No amount of money will ever bring their loved one back but the modest payment is at least some recognition of the loss and that the death should never have happened.

Devastated relatives say it is a further blow to learn their relationship was not close enough in the eyes of the law.

Bereaved families deserve a fair and modern law. A workable model already exists in Scotland, where eligibility is considered on a case-by-case basis meaning the closest people to the victim are not systematically excluded.

Rachel Pearce and Claire Leslie,

Via Email

Dear readers, Just a quick note to remind you that we’ll be holding a weekly drop-in clinic in Dartmouth Visitor Centre every Thursday from 10am to noon. If you’ve got something to say, a story to share or simply want to chat, feel free to pop by. We’re always happy to hear from you. Best wishes,

Tom, Charlotte and Richard.