Julian Laughton, Silverglade
I should like to add my voice to those who are dismayed by the Pick n Pay liquor licence ruling.
For those – including my parents – who tirelessly campaigned over the years for a dry Fish Hoek, this is bad news. But it also raises a red flag.
The insidious creep in alcohol outlets and supply in recent years is changing the character of the valley in more than a cosmetic way. Even those who enjoy their alcohol in a recreational kind of way (and who have no doubt welcomed this latest ruling) will surely concede that there is another side to the story. And it is a dark side.
Members of the helping professions and police and ambulance services witness first hand the community brokenness which results from a society which has lost the will (or forgotten how?) to set boundaries to protect itself from itself. Especially its families, children and indigents.
As I see it, in trying to prevent yet another liquor outlet from opening up, the dry Fish Hoek campaign has helped the good folk in this vulnerable valley community of ours to see where those boundary markers should in fact be put in.
As for Pick n Pay, I’m afraid you’ve lost my vote on this one. I have decided to join those who feel they are no longer able to shop at your Fish Hoek Arcade store.
