One from the heart

In the last few weeks I suppose this blog/site has concentrated on the harsh realities - that is how to object to the possible building on the rec, getting the news out to the local community so they know what's being considered and so on. Now that we're past the deadline for objections and in to the waiting I thought it might be nice to think about some of the softer stuff. Why do we care so much about this piece of ground?

Well, this is why I care. I want it to be there for my children's children. It was a wonderful place for my kids, still is actually and when I'm - as I hope I will be, a Grandpa I'd like to take my toddling next generation to the play park, walk the dog with them and all that ordinary, everyday stuff that makes us what we are. I want to hear the vixen screeching at 2 o'clock in the morning and the owls hooting past my bedroom window. I'd like to see Haslemere football played there - GO GIRLS!! on a Sunday morning and teenagers sitting in the sun just chatting and eyeing each other on a warm evening in August. I'd like to revel in the greens and the autumn and the winter colours, different every day - and to watch the solitary (not lonely) dog walker throwing a stick or ball and having a moment of pleasure with a companion who can't speak but would object strongly to building if he/she could.

That's all. Not much to ask really is it? The pictures above were sent to me by a neighbour who's lived here longer than my children have been alive, longer actually than my wife too and almost as long as me. They show a green and pleasant space, even then in the 70's and 80's. Chichester District Council are you there? Let's keep it that way.