Your letters...

Mayor’s attire was insulting

Sir, — It was with incredulity that I saw the photograph of the Mayor of Henley, Councillor Tom Buckley, with the Royal Marine cadets on the formal occasion of the appointments of the shared role of mayor’s cadet (Standard, August 1).

He dressed as for a day on Brighton beach. His appearance, in a brightly coloured, open-necked shirt with rolled-up cuffs, shorts, no socks and very casual shoes was an insult to the cadets, all of whom had clearly taken trouble to turn up smartly uniformed, despite the hot weather.

His wearing of the mayoral chain over this attire simply added an unseemly element of farce to the occasion.

If I were a Henley resident I would be ashamed of a mayor who chooses to behave in this way. — Yours faithfully,

Douglas Kedge

Lea Road, Sonning Common

Appalled by appearance

Sir, — I was astonished at the picture on page 17 of last week’s Henley Standard showing the Mayor wearing his chain of office with clothes more suited for the beach and, supposedly, inspecting the Royal Marine cadets.

Everyone else was dressed smartly as the occasion demanded and must have been appalled by his appearance.

What sort of example was he setting to those cadets who were to accompany him on official engagements? I dread to think what he will be wearing on Remembrance Sunday. — Yours faithfully,

Rhona Mogridge

Makins Road, Henley

Formal wear required

Sir, — I refer to your report on page 17 of last week’s Henley Standard regarding the appointment of the Mayor’s cadets and, in particular, your photograph of the Mayor carrying out an inspection of the smartly turned-out cadets.

Bearing in mind the Mayor has been granted an allowance of £9,000, I venture to suggest the purchase of a suit to wear on such formal occasions would be a good idea. — Yours faithfully,

Richard Guy

New Street, Henley

Call me old-fashioned... but

Sir, — Perhaps my dress standards are somewhat out of date, but I was more than a little upset when I saw the photo of our Mayor, Cllr Tom Buckley, casually dressed in floral shirt and shorts, wearing his chain of office and inspecting the parade of immaculately turned-out Royal Marine cadets.

I sincerely hope that when the selected cadets turn out to support him that he will be more appropriately dressed. — Yours faithfully,

Christopher Laing

Lashbrook Road, Lower
Shiplake

Disrespectful to the role

Sir, — When you recently published photos of our Mayor meeting the Speaker of the House, the Speaker was resplendent in his historical ceremonial attire, while our Mayor appeared to have arrived straight from returning after a holiday in Benidorm.

It was similarly disappointing to see last week’s photos of the Mayor meeting the Sea Cadets. The young cadets had clearly made a commendable effort to look smart in their uniforms, yet the Mayor turned up in shorts and a floral shirt — attire entirely unsuited to the occasion and disrespectful to the role he holds and the people he is meeting.

Why does Tom Buckley consider himself exempt from the basic expectations of appropriate dress, protocol and respect for his civic position and in representing our town?

As Mayor, he represents the people of Henley and the dignity of the office he occupies. Is it not unreasonable to expect him to dress accordingly? — Yours faithfully,

Andrew Ball

Highmoor

More suited to the beach

Sir, — It was good to read the Sea Cadet article last week on what they do and the Mayor’s visit showing the support these young people deserve.

However, as a former serviceman, I was surprised to see the cadets, smartly dressed in their dress uniforms, being inspected by our mayor dressed more appropriately for the beach or garden, albeit with his chain of office on! — Yours faithfully,

Name and address supplied

Dressing for the occasion

Sir, — Congratulations to Joe Whitlock, Raphie Barron and Kiara De Sousa on being appointed the Mayor’s cadets.

I was very surprised to see how the Mayor was dressed as the cadets would have spent many hours getting smart for the occasion. — Yours faithfully,

Peter Giles

Earley

Daisy Smith, Henley Town Council’s communications manager, said: “We fully recognise and appreciate the strong feelings expressed. Public engagement with civic life, whether in support or criticism, is part of what keeps our local institutions responsive and relevant.

“Dress codes vary from mayor to mayor, so too do personalities — each brings their own style and approach to the role — and this variety has long been part of the character and colour of Henley’s civic life.

“Councillor Buckley has great admiration for the cadets and was pleased to mark their appointments.

“He looks forward to supporting them in their duties over the coming year.”

Saddened by Lord’s death

Sir, — I, too, was saddened to hear of the death of Lord Phillimore (Standard, July 18) and have personal experience of his philanthropy.

Shiplake Primary School owes him a great debt of gratitude for his generosity in funding a teacher for a year in order that the school could be tided over what was then a financial crisis.

I was at the time chairman of the building and finance committee of Shiplake Primary School governors.

This is only one example from a life filled with such acts of support for the community.

He is remembered with gratitude. — Yours faithfully,

Ann Law

Heathfield Avenue, Binfield Heath

Are salmon still thriving?

I have just come across a leaflet produced by the then publicly owned Thames Water Authority. It read: “Control and prevention of pollution and determined effort are now paying off.

“More than 100 species of fish have returned to the tideway and salmon are again leaping, a sure sign that the river is clean.”

The salmon success story is told in an exhibition entitled “Our River”, which is open to the public at the Royal Berkshire Archives until August 29.

With the present state of our river are salmon still leaping up the specially constructed salmon ladders to spawn? — Yours faithfully,

Douglas Wright

Caversham

Childhood memories

Sir, — VJ day looms on August 15 (until then in 1945, the Emperor of Japan had considered himself divine).

I am reminded of a girl in my class at school, whose father returned from slaving on the Burma Railway alive, but shattered.

Sadly, he could not cope with freedom and home life and eventually committed suicide.

The ravages of war! — Yours faithfully,

Enid Light

Marsh Mills, Wargrave Road, Henley

Thank you for support

Sirs, — I would like to thank all those local businesses that supported the New Orleans river cruise that took place on July 16 to raise money for Henley Sea Cadets.

In particular, a big thank-you to Hobbs of Henley for the use of the boat and also to the businesses that gave prizes for our onboard raffle that raised more than £700.

Our supporters were: Tesco Henley, Temptations, Henley Gin, Loddon Brewery, Cook Henley, Gabriel Machin, Henley Flowers, Viv’s Café, Henley Cycles, Gorvett and Stone, Lisa at Clays and all those friends who also gave prizes. — Yours faithfully,

David Collis

Trustee, Henley Sea Cadets