‘Change is the law of life’ is a famous quote by President John F Kennedy, but I wonder whether, in respect of the impending local government reorganisation, a more appropriate quote might be: ‘Sometimes you don’t realise how good the old days were until they’re gone’.

We will all be impacted by the new structure of local government, which takes effect from April 2027, and that’s not far away. For quite a while, there will be chaos.

Personally, I don’t disagree with reducing the number of local authority layers that currently exist, but I am sure many Farnham residents would have preferred a public service provider closer to home, rather than the mega council which is West Surrey. In fact, it covers an area of Surrey as far away as Staines.

The new structure also means taking on the significant debt of other local authorities, when Waverley, to the best of my knowledge, has a good track record of sound financial management. That seems incredibly unfair on Waverley council taxpayers.

One saving grace is that the town councils will remain in place and I would envisage that, if common sense prevails, Farnham Town Council will gradually take on the management of more local services.

Finally, from a human perspective, I wish the staff at Waverley well over the next year or so. I know that many of them are conscientious and genuinely passionate about delivering the best services to their local communities, so given that the rationale for reorganisation largely hinges on cost-saving, many staff will be feeling anxious about their future at the moment.

David Gill,

Glorney Mead,

Farnham

The agreed town plan 10 years ago was for “retaining Penns Place and the adjacent playing fields as a recreational and leisure resource for the town and as a safe and secure area for young people”.

Thanks to lobbying by East Hampshire District Council, this has evolved into permission, from the South Downs National Park Authority, for 38 houses on the site of the EHDC’s Penns Place offices. Thirty-eight much-needed social houses? A children’s centre? I doubt it.

The sale of this land for private housing will produce a tidy sum for the council, which will go some way towards paying off the massive debts built up by property speculation by current councillors.

However, my concern is that the current policy is for staff to work from home. This was claimed by councillors to be more than 80 percent after the move to the small offices on the industrial estate.

Some residents may feel this has not been a great success. Others may have had a completely different experience.

The one statistic I have seen was the return of part of the planning home-working team back into the office, which reduced processing time from eight weeks to two weeks, according to a report to councillors.

The point I would make is that once the council has sold the Penns Place offices, there is no obvious way for a future set of councillors, of whichever party, to reverse the current position where most council staff work from home. They are tying the hands of our next elected representatives just to pay off part of the huge deficit arising from their property speculations.

Brian Evans,

Ramshill,

Petersfield

I am writing to share details of my encounter with two excellent Samaritans on Saturday, January 18, while travelling on South Western Railway.

I was travelling from Southend-on-Sea to Petersfield, and then on to East Harting, and caught the 5.30pm train from Waterloo. The train had not gone far before we were told that a fallen tree had blocked the line further on. Passengers for Petersfield were told to get out at Woking and wait, possibly for three hours, simply for news.

This was not ideal for me. A combination of old age (I will be 85 next week) arthritis, and injuries sustained when I was knocked off a bike in 2022 have compromised my mobility, and I walk slowly with a stick. Station stairs can be problematic.

However, I was befriended by a couple I shall call Mr and Mrs P. I have their surname but have forgotten their first names — a senior moment. Mr P, I believe, is recently retired. They knew me as Martin, and they too were heading for Petersfield to collect Mr P’s car.

They suggested travelling by rail to Alton, then taking a taxi to their home to collect Mrs P’s car, after which they would drive me to Petersfield. They could not have been more helpful. Mrs P even insisted on tying my undone shoelace — not easy for me to reach. Embarrassing for me, but how considerate.

They were also excellent conversationalists. Mr P seemed to have considerable knowledge of aircraft, and in particular the Supermarine Spitfire factory at Southampton.

When we reached Petersfield, I was fortunate to find taxis on the station rank for my onward journey to East Harting. I would very much like to trace Mr and Mrs P with a view to hosting a thank-you lunch or dinner when they next visit Petersfield.

In a world that often feels as though it has gone wrong, where you sometimes need a stiff drink before switching on the news, it is good to know that people like Mr and Mrs P are around.

Martin Fuller,

Address supplied

The year 2026 is the National Year of Reading and, along with World Book Day 2026 on Thursday, March 5, it provides a wonderful opportunity for every child, including those with reading and vision impairments, to enjoy and celebrate a love of reading and storytelling.

To mark the occasion, leading sight loss charity the Royal National Institute of Blind People is running a creative writing competition to give children with vision impairments the chance to express their creativity and love of books.

Children are invited to submit a piece of writing, prose or poetry, in any form or style. Entries should be a retelling of a book they have read, told from the viewpoint of a minor character.

The competition is open to any child or young person aged 5–12 with a vision impairment in the UK. It runs from January 4 to midnight on Friday, February 27.

The winner will be invited to a celebratory World Book Day event at the British Library on March 15 where they will read and share their work with author Sibéal Pounder. We can’t wait to read the submissions and wish all entrants the very best of luck.

For full details on how to enter, email [email protected]

Lara Marshall,

Library Engagement Manager,

RNIB