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.

LETTER OF THE WEEK: 'We must value lives lost to Covid-19'

Last week saw the official record of 100,000 Covid-related deaths in the UK.

There has been much debate about why the UK has the worst record in the world, in terms of ratio of deaths to the population.

There has also been debate as to how this appalling tragedy should be marked, including the creation of memorials and establishing a memorial day.

I have found myself wondering what those who have died, and the many thousands more who have cared for them, would wish to happen.

In addition to the personal memorials for individual loved ones, it seems to me that, above all, they would all wish to see a new and more effective system for caring for the vulnerable across the country.

Our marvellous National Health Service has been stretched far beyond what could reasonably be expected.

READ MORE: 'Stop trampling on our crops': Farmers urge walkers to respect the countryside

Social care has finally come under the spotlight, for all the worst reasons, and the inadequacies of provision and funding have been all too apparent.

In addition to a cross-party commitment to creating an integrated health and social care system that will serve everyone in our communities, but which inevitably will take time to put in place, we can make immediate changes to support our most vulnerable.

Professional carers should be properly paid for the very valuable services which they provide.

The millions of unpaid carers who look after loved ones should be given the financial and practical support to help them secure the quality of life which they deserve.

To show how much we value the lives which have been lost, we can surely take the necessary steps to limit the suffering and loss of others, in the future.

And the future starts now. 

Rachel Dineley, diversity officer, Chesham and Amersham Liberal Democrats

Support for local sports clubs

Treasurers of local amateur community sports clubs must be worried about the national lockdown lasting until at least March 8.

Will the club survive with minimal, or perhaps no, income during the current nine-week lockdown period and beyond with possible restricted social and sporting activities following in the spring?

Funds from the government’s November sports rescue package are unlikely to arrive anytime soon, but those clubs with their own premises should get support from Buckinghamshire Council business support grants.

Clubs with freehold or leasehold sports facilities should be receiving a Local Restrictions Support Grant and a one-off top up grant.

For club premises with a rateable value of £15,000 or less the former is worth £2,001 and the latter £4,000 giving a total of £6,001.

Clubs with higher rateable values will get more. Hopefully grant payments to clubs with premises will soon be landing in their bank accounts. If not clubs should follow up with the council.

Central government has funded these mandatory grants and has also given local authorities a further £594 million for discretionary grants to businesses in their area.

Clubs without their own premises may be eligible for a discretionary grant and should consider applying to Buckinghamshire Council.

Richard Baldwin, Seer Green

‘Take rubbish home to recycle it’

Isn’t it nice that everybody is flocking to the countryside just to dispose of their rubbish?

We should feel so privileged. I’m not talking fly-tipping either, that’s a whole different problem entirely. 

No, with the constant rain we’ve had over recent days, our ditches have been turned into rivers of trash with enough cans, plastic bottles, coffee cups and wine bottles (how?) floating in them to shelve a large convenience store. 

And I haven’t even mentioned the frying pan and tennis racket.
How difficult is it to take your rubbish home and recycle it from there, instead of lobbing out of the car window? 

The council doesn’t seem capable of cleaning it up so it seems it may be up to us decent citizens to take action. 

Why these morons seem to be growing in ever more selfish number I don’t know, but I think education will be lost on them. 

Only one was round it then, I’m getting my grabber, taking a bin bag and venturing out myself. 

It would be good if others could join me.

John McGeenham, Wooburn Common

Renovate historic cottage

The proposed demolition of Ann’s cottage raises some serious issues for local people. 

The tiny cottage is situated on the border between Naphill and Walters Ash. 

Access is via a track through the Walters Ash allotments and, despite this being a public footpath and an unmetalled track, it has always proved adequate. 

Replacement of the cottage with a four-bedroom house with three parking places has ominous implications, even if it is better than the developer’s original proposal for two houses. 

READ MORE: Naphill ‘eyesore’ to be demolished in favour of new four-bed home

It seems likely that we will end up with a concrete or tarmacadam roadway down he length of the allotments, with an enhanced opening on to the Main Road.

To some this may appear a benefit, but what will come next? 

Once the road is built, is it too fanciful to imagine the councillors, planners and developers salivating over the prospect of fitting in another 63 houses on that allotment area? Can we trust them? 

Just reflect on the fate of a meadow in Clappins Lane that had AONB status. 

Ann’s cottage already appears on an OS Map of 1874, so it is one of the oldest houses in Naphill/Walters Ash. 

Why not renovate it and remove these worries at a stroke?

Dr Trevor Hussey, Naphill

Excellent vaccine process

I would like to offer heartfelt thanks and congratulations to all the volunteers and NHS staff who are running the vaccination centre at Adams Park. 

I had my first vaccination on Saturday morning. The whole process was very well organised, quick and efficient. 

There were plenty of marshals to guide the public and the NHS staff were patient and kind. 

An excellent operation.

Jean Frost, Marlow

My response to jail term letter

I would like to add that the writer The Secret Barrister agrees with Roy Craig’s assertion “Logic is missing from our legal system” to some extent. 

No-one likes to think that our criminal courts are not working well but, they aren’t: they’re underfunded. 

Criminal justice means in practice “not abstract concepts in dusty textbooks, but a suffusion of humanity - tears, blood, anger, loss, redemption and despair”.

The Mirror reported in 2016 that a survey found “four in five are not happy with the justice system and believe that offenders are treated much more leniently than in the past”, despite evidence to the contrary.

In his book ‘Stories of the law and how it’s broken’, the anonymous barrister wrote: “There is a lack of clarity as to what those setting policy want to achieve.

“If one were seeking a totem to the despair caused by the work of licentious, headline-chasing governments revelling in the ruin they create, sentencing law would be it.” (Page 286).

Underfunding means hearings have been delayed or moved for lack of interpreters, to take one example.

I was disappointed to learn that not all Justices of the Peace are as good as Richard Bristow, formerly of Uxbridge court. 

JPs’ decisions can be “inconsistent, irrational, and at times, plainly unlawful” (page 63).

We are all equally dependent on working justice. Should we care about it, and even grow to love it? 

We should.

Phil Jones, Bourne End

Shame old stores had to close

One shop not mentioned in ‘Lost shops of High Wycombe’ was the C.O.O.P in the High Street, on the corner of Brown Lane.

It was very handy selling most things such as clothes, furniture material, underwear, etc.

READ MORE: These are the lost shops of High Wycombe

You could save each week and, after a while, get vouchers to pay for your goods.

It was such a shame these stores had to close because they’ve left wonderful memories.

June Lewis, Sands

Improving nation’s heart health

To mark National Heart Month this February, I’ve teamed up with the British Heart Foundation (BHF) to call on the nation to do at least one thing to improve their heart health, while raising much-needed funds for the charity’s life saving work. 

According to a new UK survey by the BHF, many UK adults are more concerned about their physical (63%) and mental health (56%) because of the pandemic and around half (48%) say they feel unhealthier as a result. 
Nearly half (46%) also say they’ve put on weight. 

The good news is that more than half (54%) of those surveyed are now determined to get more physically active. 

National Heart Month is the perfect opportunity to put that intent into action and look after our hearts, particularly at a time when we’re looking for ways to boost our health while following Government guidelines. 

Taking on an activity such as BHF’s MyCycle or My Step Challenge can help us move more – whether inside our outdoors – and support the charity’s vital work.  

Since the start of the pandemic, the BHF has sadly had to cut investment in new research by £50 million, which will delay important scientific breakthroughs. 

Having been  diagnosed with a congenital heart condition as a child, I know all too well the importance of the work they do, which is why I’m encouraging the public to back the BHF and raise funds to help save and improve lives.

Roger Black, ambassador, British Heart Foundation (address withheld)

‘Share Holocaust survivors’ stories’

The Holocaust was the murder of six million Jewish men, women and children, by the Nazis and their collaborators. 

The discrimination, persecution, and murder was a result of radical Nazi policies against minorities across Europe. 

Each year, we mark Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27, the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death and concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau.

Holocaust Memorial Day also commemorates the other victims of Nazi persecution, victims of the subsequent genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, and Bosnia, and of genocides still ongoing. 

These include the mass killings and rape of an estimated 400,000 Darfuri men, women, and children in Sudan; the destruction of villages and murder of over 28,000 Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar; and the detention and forced re-education of up to a million Uighur in China. 

After the Holocaust, we said “Never again”. We have said that after each subsequent genocide.

Genocide does not start with mass killings, with detainment, or with destruction – The Holocaust, for example, was preceded by the gradual introduction of discriminatory legislation that restricted the rights of Jewish people living in Germany. 

There is no one reason for genocide, and there is no one way a genocide can be carried out.

In the Holocaust, the Nazis and their collaborators murdered millions through mass shootings, or extermination and labor camps where they were gassed, shot or worked to death. 

In Rwanda, approximately 800,000 Tutsi and moderate Hutus were killed by Hutu extremists over the course of 100 days, on roads, rivers, and in churches, by machetes and grenades; in Cambodia, over four years, the Khmer Rouge killed an estimated two million Cambodians, including many intellectuals, and those from religious and ethnic minorities.

On Holocaust Memorial Day, we must hear the stories of the dwindling numbers of Holocaust survivors: their thoughts, their experiences, and their emotions. 

Their experiences during the Holocaust were horrific and inhumane. We must also hear the testimonies of the survivors of subsequent genocides and continue to educate ourselves. 

Having heard survivor testimonies from the Holocaust, the Rwandan Genocide, and Srebrenica, and being a Regional Ambassador for the Holocaust Educational Trust, I can say that hearing the stories of survivor’s changes people’s perspectives to understand what persecution and the inhumane, really is.

Survivors share their testimonies so we never forget the horrors of genocide, and where persecution and hatred can lead if left unchallenged. 

As Holocaust survivor and Nobel Laureate Elie Weisel said, ‘When you hear from a witness, you become a witness’. 

It is now the responsibility of our generation to share the stories of survivors and share their messages of tolerance.

When we do this we are not only commemorating the dead, but also changing the future.

Alfie Thomas, Holocaust Educational Trust (address withheld)