Dear editor and Bolander readers, I’d like to highlight something that I saw the other day when walking on Strand beach, as I frequently do. I like to cross the river and walk northwards all the way to the perimeter fence of the Rheinmetall Denen facility, and back. I always enjoy the sight of the various seabirds and gulls on the walk, and especially the colony that abides on the far side of the fence, where they gather in great numbers. Another captivating sight at the fence has always been the cormorants that perch on the tops of the fence posts and spread their wings out to rest and dry out after their fishing forays. I have also observed kingfishers using the tops of the fence posts as a vantage point and rest area in between their diving exploits. Imagine my surprise therefore, at the discovery on my last walk, that the top of the fence has been endowed with a stratum of razor barbed wire, which effectively prevents the birds from using the tops of the posts. They now have to try to balance precariously on the top of the razor wire, a non-trivial task in the Somerset West winds, and also they have to run the gauntlet of avoiding the razors embedded in the wire or risk potentially serious injury to their feet. I am outraged and horrified at the lack of forethought implicit in the act of erecting this eyesore and threat to the bird life in what is, after all, supposed to be a sanctuary for those very residents. Especially in light of the fact that it is essentially an excercise in futility. It achieves nothing. If an intruder wishes to enter the ‘forbidden area’, all they have to do is go when the tide is slightly lower, and walk around the seaward side of the fence. Alternatively, if they arrive there at an inconveniently high tide, they can just walk 50 meters or so inland, where the dune rises up, and simply step over the meter or so of fence that is sticking out of the dune. What are these people thinking? Somebody with a modicum of common sense needs to get rid of that abomination.
Yours, ‘hoping for an outbreak of sanity’
Vic Dreyer.