AFTER the shocking news of incompetence and worrying blunders by some in high places, there is an example of the silliness of political correctness to make us smile — or scoff.

Stiles and kissing gates, historical features of the countryside for many years, have been adjudged to be in breach of the Disability Discrimination Act, as they obstruct people in wheelchairs from enjoying the rural scene.

The Times reported that councils want stiles banned and kissing gates replaced by larger ones, which handicapped people can negotiate. The move is part of a Government attempt to encourage more folk to visit the countryside, thus learning about farms and food provisions.

The ancient barriers are part of the tradition and character of the rural scene, enabling walkers to pass from field to field, over fences and walls.

Memories of old footpaths around Penrith are of fields which were unsuitable for wheelchairs, due either to clinging mud or a profusion of cow claps.

SUPER SPORTING SUCCESS STORY

Penrith has been the setting for sporting success stories, especially the post-war progress of the rugby union club which, earlier this year, completed 40 years on the Winters Park ground.

Dedicated men realised there was little opportunity for advancement on the council-owned Foundry field, where matches had been played for many years, and, in a bold move, set their sights on the 28 acres-area on the eastern fringe of town.

Club treasurer Joe Jameson was an inspirational figure in the acquisition of the land for £7,500 and its subsequent redevelopment into a first-rate sporting centre, which, as well as three RU pitches, also embraces squash courts, tennis courts and is the “home” of Beacon Archers, Eden Runners and Penrith Amateur Rugby League Club.

This is an astounding achievement by a once-modest club, which had its headquarters at the Gloucester Arms, in the middle of town, and was dependent for survival on members’ fees, the contents of a collection tin on match days and the profit from a garden party and the annual ball.

Alongside the Winters Park accomplishment, the club now plays at a higher level than ever before, urged on by Nigel Beaty, a charismatic development manager, and there are strong academy and youth sections.

“Aim high,” Nigel tells his players. That is the spirit which has lifted Penrith Rugby Union Club to its present level of attainment.

It’s not just a success story. It’s truly marvellous.

RAYWORTH ROAD?

More than 30 years have passed since Herbert Rayworth, who died last week, played a key role in local government in Penrith. Comparatively few people are now aware of his major contribution to the town. As clerk to the former urban council until it was superseded by Eden District Council, he was in post during a time of much progress, notably the bypassing of Penrith by a new stretch of the M6.

Along with senior councillors Ken Jones and Wilf Brogden, Bert Rayworth stressed the need for Penrith to get maximum benefit from the motorway link by the creation of a business park, close to the Skirsgill interchange.

It was claimed that the tricky question of access was solved by the trio in a chat over drinks in the Royal Hotel, after a council meeting. Arising from their informal talk, a plan was devised to extend the bridge carrying railway lines over the M6, so that it also covered the route of the access road.

Along with fellow members of the Rotary Club of Penrith, Bert Rayworth was responsible for the conversion of the town’s former maternity home into an Abbeyfield home for elderly people.

He was a sincere, modest man, who did much for Penrith in an almost-forgotten age. His immediate predecessor as clerk to the council, Charles Henry Huntley, is memorialised by Huntley Avenue, on the Wetheriggs estate. Rayworth Road would be an apt name for some street of the future.

DRAGON WARNING

Health and safety regulations are being used to censor children’s literature, the Daily Mail revealed. Author Lindsay Gardiner was advised to remove from her latest book a passage about a dragon which was toasting marshmallows with his fiery breath.

The publishers feared small children might copy the dangerous practice and they might be sued by angry parents.

This namby-pamby attitude towards the make-believe of juvenile fiction seems incredible. Are do-gooders intent on taking the fun out of children’s books and lives? Should an imaginative four-year-old grandson be discouraged from hunting dragons in and around Lazonby in case one of them turns on him?

Crazy, over-the-top censorship might even lead to a call for the culling of all spiders likely to frighten the luckless Miss Muffet as she attempts to eat her favourite curds and whey.

As for the handsome prince kissing Sleeping Beauty, a prosecution for sexual harassment may be considered.