Letters: January 31: Have your say

.Pea straw is a good option for the vegetable garden.

We owe a debt
I am very pleased to see that Roger Palmer (Letters, Jan 25) has taken Rosemary McLeod to task over her article about the participation of the Anzacs in World Wars I and II.

Among other things, she seems to completely fail to understand why they went in such numbers. Several reasons immediately spring to mind. The first is that in 1914 and, to a rather lesser extent in 1939, most New Zealanders and Australians considered themselves to be British, and the Motherland was threatened. I quote Banjo Patterson's Boer War poem: "He who fights the British Crown must fight the British race."

In fact, the New Zealand government under Prime Minister Sir Joseph Ward actually gifted a cruiser, HMS New Zealand, to the Royal Navy at the beginning of the war. I do believe it saw action at the Battle of Jutland in 1916.

These were young, vigorous men of an age when anyone worth his salt is just looking for an adventure of some kind. Many had grown up on backblocks farms, in the bush, on the gumfields, in mining towns or in cities with high unemployment, and jumped at a chance to get away and see the big wide world. Of course they went in droves.

As far as World War II is concerned, if our parents' generation had not fought, and the Axis powers had won, we would probably now be ruled by a highly militaristic Japanese regime, all of Europe would probably still be subject to all the brutalities of Nazism, and our society would be much nastier and less democratic than it is now.

We owe those men and women, military and civilian, an enormous debt. It should never be forgotten.

I have spoken to people who suffered under Axis domination in Europe and the Pacific, and there is no doubt in my mind of that. I would advise Ms McLeod to do some research into the experiences of those people.
- Sid Ware, Whangarei

Eating greens
If vegetable prices have "plummeted 20 per cent" as reported in the Advocate, why is the Whangarei Budgeting Services urging people to grow their own? Yes, it is satisfying having your own garden but it is not necessarily cost-saving at all, given you need fertiliser and plants, plus your time.

Those in financial difficulty would be better saving on the chippies and soft drinks which, looking at supermarket trollies, is what people appear to purchase most of.
- Alison Stewart, Tikipunga

Young talent
It was a delight to watch the new Northland Youth Theatre production Empty City ("Northland Youth Theatre's Summer Show takes you through city", Advocate, Jan 14). I was impressed that this cast of varied ages could bring to the stage such a mature and insightful performance, under guidance of experienced directors Laurel Devenie and Katy Maudlin.

The themes focused around the ongoing loss of the energetic and vibrant next generation that is so relevant to Whangarei. It reminds us that we should be doing more to keep talented individuals here with employment and creative spaces, and hopefully this be a further stimulus for ongoing positive change in our beautiful city. I wonder how many of the cast members will still be here in five to 10 years' time?

I would urge anyone who has not yet seen it to book tickets soon.
- Richard Gilpin, Whangarei