Village Voice February/March 2014 | Page 3

COMMENT Well, Happy New Year to all our readers! Speaking personally, we will be glad to see the back of the gales, rain, floods, power cuts etc., but writing this in the first week of January, we can only hope for better weather by the time you read this. Stressful though Christmas was for many of us, we couldn’t help but be pleased to feel the sense of community that the Christmas power cuts brought out. Our neighbours were there when we needed them, whether it was the offer of a shower or room in their freezers for our frozen food. You hear a lot of references to ‘the true spirit of Christmas’ – and this was a good example. Jill Buss See below for another shining endorsement. COMMUNITY SPIRIT IN ADVERSITY Ronnie at Six West in Alresford who kindly powered up their ice cream freezer to store the entire contents of our freezer throughout the power cut. We won't forget their generosity, and when tempted to pick up a newspaper along with the groceries in the Co-op we will resist! I could add that in the 'current' climate, 'watt' this 'amp'ly demonstrates is the way that kind gestures have the 'power' to 'transform' the general mood. And it's all free of 'charge'! Linda Edge REFUSE COLLECTION To anyone who has not yet been informed, Winchester City Council has not issued the usual timetable cards this year, but they may be downloaded from the WCC website (click on Waste Disposal/When is my refuse collected?/your address). If you don’t have access to the internet, give me a call, and I’ll print you a copy. Jill Buss (734853) Mobile Library Service Being without electricity for five consecutive days over Christmas, with a further interruption to supply on New Year's Day, didn't make for a particularly festive period. My fork 'andles references (courtesy The Two Ronnies) quickly got on everybody's wick (though not quite as much as SSE's failure to keep us accurately informed about progress). It's easy to dwell on the negatives, but the reason I'm writing is to highlight a positive: very many thanks to newsagents Paul and Gundleton opposite Hill Farm 2.55 - 3.25pm Bighton Three Horseshoes 3.30 - 4.00pm On Tuesdays as listed below: February March 4th 4th Please note: No further dates had been notified at the time of going to press. 1