THE PRESS

Recently, the Shropshire Star ran a story about a truck carrying wind turbine components travelling through the town of Welshpool, a task which took all of seven minutes. The paper claimed that the streets of Welshpool had been lined with protesters. In reality, there were eight identikit nimbies protesting against they knew not what. Hardly lining the streets, eh?

We've been rather fortunate round our way with the local press. Reactionary at heart, the temptation for our local editors to fall for the nutty nimby line that the proposed Lenchwick Windfarm will destroy everything in sight has been immense. But, thanks to the efforts of a loyal few, mostly those of BLoW ('Back Local Windfarms'), the local press has received much in the way of letters and press releases which contradict the mad notions of the nookies.

True, whenever a local paper prints a letter in support of the windfarm the editor receives howls of protests from the deluded monkeys of VVASP. And VVASP press releases have been given space in the papers when BLoW press releases haven't - which must have helped certain gormless Tory MPs to think that the anti-windfarm band wagon was worth jumping onto (when two local youngsters had a letter supporting the windfarm in the paper, the editor gave the batty 'spokesperson' of VVASP an automatic right of reply, which was a mistake). But overall, the local press has been obliged to remain rather lofty, evidently at times getting tired of all the craziness, the foolishness and the blatant lies put about by our nimby friends and their vainglorious leader.

Yesterday, the Evesham Journal dipped its toes back in the water by printing a rather lovely letter from a local teenager. This young woman (19 years old) is a resident of Harvington, a village where the majority couldn't really give a damn about the windfarm and yet the craven and undemocratic parish council still insisted on fighting somebody else's battle with their residents' money. What the letter in the Journal proves, yet again, is that Harvington isn't entirely swamped by deranged middle-aged nimbies, and that the youth of the area is only too aware of our responsibilities and the need to solve pressing problems so that they too will be able to enjoy the environment and have clean, green energy resources.

As with so many other letters in support of the windfarm which the papers have bothered to print, yesterday's was from someone who actually knows what they're talking about - which instantly gives them an advantage over Dr Evil and his nimby army of barefaced liars. The young woman in question is familiar with windfarms in France, so she knows that they do no harm. She also recognises that the silly stories spread about the place have been repeated ad nauseamby people suffering from 'vanity' - they're simply too wrapped up in the values of their properties to remember that the world doesn't revolve entirely around them.

Well, three cheers for yet another young person of the area who knows that the windfarm is good news for everyone, and especially for the young (unlike those delicate little flowers of the Lenches who have believed all the dishonest gibberish their parents have forced down their throats and actually think that the windfarm might scare their ponies).

And well done to the Evesham Journal for printing it. Okay, so they didn't run with the story of Dr Rod Stroud libelling the planning officer at Wychavon, or the inimitable Les Evans telling porkies about having spoken to 'the Fintry group'. No, they haven't been entirely balanced in their reporting. But at least they do occasionally give a voice to the reasonable, socially responsible young people of the area.

Which is more than the evil doctor and his mad minions have done.