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This is what you have been writing to us about this week.
To send your own letter, email bfpletters@london.newsquest.co.uk.
Please note, any letters sent to the Bucks Free Press office are only being picked up periodically as all staff are still working from home.
Be aware of catalytic converter thieves
Last Friday, early hours of the morning, our Toyota Hybrid catalytic converter was stolen as was our neighbour’s (Sands).
When the police arrived an hour later they stated another one down our road had also been stolen.
Thus far we have had no further contact from the police.
We didn’t even realise there was such a thing as a stealing of catalytic converters.
After reading a Guardian article this is a very common organised crime increasing in huge numbers.
On speaking to taxi firms this is a very common issue they have to deal with on a weekly basis.
This same crime was witnessed on Abercromby Avenue by a resident in the night (might’ve have been the same night).
It has happened to us and we want other owners/taxi firms to be vigilant as there a lot of hybrid cars around and they appear to be a target for this type of crime, due to the pure metals in the converter selling for high price.
Our concern is what is our police force doing about protecting our properties and making others aware so that they can take precautions to make it harder for these criminals who want a quick buck without thinking of the knock on effect on us and others of their actions?
Name withheld, Sands
Speed limit road signs debacle continues
RE: ‘Why has road been forgotten by the council?’, Bucks Free Press letters page, September 4
I have to say I was amazed by Sarah’s letter regarding the speed limit on Parkway in Marlow.
Have you ever read the Highway Code?
As one turns left from the A404 and just before the left turn into Parkway you might notice there are two signs showing the speed limit you are about to enter 30mph!
Page 40 of the Highway Code states that on roads with street lighting the speed limit is 30mph unless signs show otherwise.
So no Sarah no-one has removed any signs, there is no need to have any.
I was even more amazed that you have had ‘two’ speeding fines on Parkway.
Surely the first one should have been enough to tell you it’s a 30mph zone.
Drivers speeding on our roads I fear is at an all-time high, it is a blatant disregard of the law.
More education is needed for all drivers to better themselves when behind the wheel.
Roy Craig, Hazlemere
Visit village’s best kept secret this weekend
Chesham Bois Burial Ground is one of Chesham Bois’ best kept secrets.
Even though it has been open since 1924, many local residents do not realise where it is, the fascinating history of the characters who have been associated with it, or the diversity of services which it provides.
The Burial Ground, owned by Chesham Bois Parish Council, is holding an Open Day from 2pm-4.30pm on Sunday 13th September as part of the National Heritage Open Day festival.
Come and meet the team who look after it, and who will have copies of all the Burial records to answer any family history questions.
Help and advice is also on hand for those who might be interested in reserving a plot for the future.
Information will be available about some of the notable people who are buried here, including our four Commonwealth War Graves.
Visit the Chapel, which is usually closed except for funeral services, and take the time to remember a loved one or sit in quiet reflection.
Meanwhile our rare chalk grassland meadow hosts a diversity of wildflowers and wildlife – some of them quite rare – and spotters guides will be available for you to track them down.
There is plenty of space for visitors to social distance when visiting the Burial Ground. There will be a restriction on numbers of people from different households able to enter the Chapel and view the Book of Remembrance at any one time, with a queuing system outside as appropriate.
The Burial Ground is situated just off Bois Moor Road (nearest Sat Nav HP5 1SU). If approaching from Chesham Bois village along Bois Lane, the entrance to the Burial Ground is on the left, 400m after the traffic lights by Chesham Bois school. Parking is available.
Bois Moor Road is also served by the 71/73 bus service which runs between Amersham and Chesham.
The open day event is being organised by Chesham Bois Parish Council in association with the national Heritage Open Days festival.
It is featured on the website https://www.heritageopendays.org.uk/visiting/event/chesham-bois-burial-ground-open-day
Chesham Bois Parish Council
Going the extra mile for dedicated Wycombe fan
SO WHEN an avid life long supporter made an inadvertent error when ordering his souvenir book, meaning it got lost in Royal Mail’s system, we at Mission Despatch couldn’t sit back and see him go without.
So we, and Trust Director Alan Cecil, decided we would pay for a new one for him, and I would hand deliver it personally.
We hope you enjoy it Robin!
Mark Bowring, Mission Despatch
Why I cannot leave the UK – a country I fell in love with
AS A kid in Italy in the late 1970s, I fell in love with a country called ‘Inghilterra’, which roughly translates as ‘England’.
Inghilterra was the setting of my favourite British sitcoms Father Dear Father, A Man About The House and Robin’s Nest broadcasted (dubbed in Italian) on the Italian TV channel RAI2.
By the time I finished my first degree in Italy, my dream country had become Finland, the land of the tall, blonde Finnish rally drivers.
I never got to move to Finland, as my father wanted me to perfect my English.
I came to the UK as the freedom of movement and my rights as an EU citizen would allow me to stay as long as I wanted, and to be able to study, and work.
I moved to the UK in January 1994, I gained an MPhil, and a PhD from British universities, and I started my career as a mechanical engineer.
I finally became a British citizen in August 2009.
As my dual nationality precluded me from working on some projects, I renounced my Italian citizenship in August 2014, becoming a sole British national.
Little did I know that this decision would eventually leave me trapped in a country which I would no longer recognise as my own.
To regain my Italian citizenship, I would have to reside in Italy for up to two years.
Not a doable option for me, having spent most of my adult life in the UK; at 51, I feel too old to move to another country, after moving to the UK at 25.
Political activism has now become my way of life.
I now campaign against both Brexit, and the injustices of the current Tory government.
The upside of this situation is gaining a surrogate family of activists.
Dr Sylvia Zamperini
Gearing up for new season with family side project
AS WE (finally) gear up for the new season, I thought you and your readers might be interested in a side project i have created with my 10 year old son – a football game for Amazon Echo/Alexa devices.
It is an international football manager simulator, where you take control of a national team and attempt to guide them to glory in a cup competition.
There is some decision making required pre-match and at half time, with match commentary for in-game highlights.
It’s completely free to play.
Anyone with a device can play by simply saying “Alexa, open Soccer Manager”.
Jamie and Albie Reeve, Amersham
Death on the roads – my thoughts on BFP headline
The headline “Killer driver walks free” in Bucks Free Press on August 21 reminded me of the humane words of Richard Bristow, the deceased justice of the peace at Uxbridge court.
Writing under the pen name Bystander, his blog was first called The Law West Of Ealing Broadway; then it changed its name to the Magistrates’ Blog.
Still available online, Bristow did more to humanise the judiciary than anyone else I can think of.
On 3 February 2005, here is some of what he had to say on the subject of Death on the Roads:
“…The difficult cases are where someone has been killed as a result of careless driving. This offence can only be dealt with by magistrates, and is not imprisonable.
“Sometimes the tiniest error on the part of a driver can result in a death; this is fairly common where motorcycles are involved.
“We have always been trained to punish the offence and not the consequences, and when I was first trained we were given an example:-
“You and I are driving identical cars side by side, at identical speeds, approaching traffic lights.
“Stationary in front of us are two more cars, identical to each other. We each hit the car in front at exactly 30mph.
“The driver of ‘my’ one gets out of the car uninjured. By horrible chance yours is dead. Should we receive different punishments?
“It is vital that the Chairman prepares the court’s judgement with enormous care, explaining clearly the reason for the sentence being what it is, and expressing sympathy with the bereaved.
“The Government is currently reviewing Road Traffic law, and one of the proposals is to create a new imprisonable offence of causing death by careless driving.
“This runs a real risk of the courts dancing to the tabloids’ tune, and imposing disproportionate sentences to please the mob.
“Accidents happen, and it is for a dispassionate and impartial tribunal to assess the proper penalty if one is appropriate.
“I fear that we are going to come under pressure to impose severe sentences. It will not, in my view, save a single life”.
Phil Jones, Bourne End
