'Thank you' from Caterham Guides

The 9th Caterham Guides would like to thank the staff and customers of Tesco Caterham for their donations at the bag packing day on Saturday 5th December. We raised a total of £772.46. All money raised will go towards the Guides' Centenary Camp in 2010. Thank you.

Janette Ralph, Caterham Guide Leader.

Local Flooding

As I am sure we are all well aware there are a number of dwellings and retail premises which are prone to flooding, some on a fairly regular basis, others less often. Although sand bags can be purchased from Tandridge District Council, there is little, if any, further help they can offer and presumably Surrey County Council also? This may not have always been the case. Some of the terraced cottages in Roffes Lane, Chaldon, were regularly flooded before the 1960s when a concrete sump was put down at the bottom of The Heath to take the floodwater. Why can something like this not be done at vulnerable sites such as Croydon Road and the roundabout in Caterham Valley shopping centre? Surely global warming will exacerbate this long-running problem?

Norma Holmes, Caterham.

Snow Chaos

This is a praise and moan message. My husband and I walked to the top of Church Hill on the evening of Monday, 21st December to see if the traffic was moving on behalf of our daughter. The scene we met was absolute carnage. There were abandoned cars on both sides causing it to become a single lane road. Obviously there were cars trying to go both ways and not making it. If it hadn't been for the amazing help that four young lads gave to stuck motorists absolutely no traffic would have moved at all. These four young men single handedly kept the hill moving, with the aid of rubber car mats and sheer strength and throwing health and safety to the four winds they managed to get cars up around the top corner. There is so much bad press about 'the youth of today' I just think these four youths need a huge thank you from absolutely everybody who was stuck in the massive tailback of traffic.

Now for the moan. Where were the gritting lorries? Where was the grit bin that used to be at the top of the hill and more importantly where were the police? Why was traffic management down to the general public? Also the sensible people that left their cars in the Valley and walked up were risking life and limb because the pavements were treacherous. It's all very well saying leave your cars at home but it's not just the roads that need clearing, especially on a very steep hill. This weather has been very accurately forecast, why have our road systems once again been crippled? In times of adverse weather conditions, everybody needs to do a bit extra. If it means overtime being paid to gritters then so be it; this doesn't happen every year.

Jessica Turk, Caterham.

The Lions say 'Thank you'

On behalf of Caterham, Oxted and Godstone Lions Club, may I take this opportunity to thank the residents of Bletchingley, Caterham on the Hill, Godstone, Oxted and South Godstone for their generous support of our street collections over the Christmas period in 2009. This year we raised £3,208.41 which will be used to support our charitable activities in the Tandridge area and further afield for Lions projects. Most recently we have provided over fifty food parcels to those in need prior to Christmas and will be holding a lunch for some senior citizens in late January.

If anyone wishes to find out more about the work of our Lions Club in this area, please visit our website www.cogslions.co.uk or phone Lion Peter Drysdale on 0845 833 7852.

"Thank you very much" to the residents and helpers who helped to free stuck motorists on Whyteleafe Hill on Monday, 21st December

Julia Church, Editor.