'Take time to appreciate nature' - Your Letters: January 20

Leave are falling from the trees

Gently swaying in the breeze

Making not a single sound

As they rest quietly on the ground

Yellow, green, rust and gold

What a beautiful sight to behold

Mother Nature is everywhere

Nothing else can compare

The tiny wild mouse trying to keep out of sight

The very last birds taking flight

A wild hedgehog that’s lovely to see

He passes by taking no notice of me

The noise of the stream so relaxing it’s almost a dream

Dogs enjoying their last hour of play

That lost ball he will find another day

I see a friend but too far away I will save

That chat for another day

It’s early but beginning to get dark I will make

My way home out from this park

All this beauty yet no price to pay this peace

I will take home with me today.

Judith Fisher, Tividale

WE ARE HERE TO HELP ALL CHILDREN

January can be a difficult month for many people across the UK and here at Childline thousands of children reach out to us all year to discuss their loneliness.

In the last year, the NSPCC service has delivered almost 5,000 counselling sessions related to this subject, both online and over the phone from 13 bases across the country.

Many children and young people said they felt lonely due to moving house or school and having to make new friends or their parents working long hours. 

Others said they were being bullied by their peers, and some said it was because they saw their friends having fun on social media and felt as though they were missing out.

We want to remind children and young people that they are not alone, and if they feel this way they can reach out to trusted family and friends Childline is also there to provide help and support 24/7, free and in confidence. 

They can call 0800 1111 and speak to a counsellor over the phone or visit the website at childline.org.uk.

We also have tips for adults to support children and young people who may be struggling, visit nspcc.org.uk and search for ‘loneliness’.

Matthew Brookes, Childline West Midlands

TAKE UP A FREE BENEFITS CHECK

As we start 2025, finances for the UK's lowest income households are continuing to buckle with millions still going without basic necessities and behind on their bills.

At the same time, the total amount of unclaimed benefits in Great Britain is now a staggering £22.7 billion a year. It is those on the very lowest incomes that struggle the most and it has been suggested the government run a large campaign to encourage the take up of benefits. Until they do, now is the ideal time to find out if you are missing out. Benefit Answers offer a free check to people across the West Midlands, Shropshire and Staffordshire which will tell you if you could be entitled to a share of the billions in unclaimed benefits. For your free check telephone 0333 121 2128.

Paul Brennan, Benefit Answers

A BOWL OF NEEDLE SOUP ANYONE?

This could well be the answer to 'eat or heat’ for old people but personally, I wouldn't advise it.

In dear old Belgium, If you’re trying to cut down on holiday food waste or maybe feel in need of a bit of net zero, Ghent recently advised: “Why not make a delicious spruce needle butter with the leftover needles from your holiday tree? 

It’s a breeze.” Apparently we are lead to believe “that way your Christmas tree is not 100 percent waste.”

The city did warn that there could be health dangers. 

Yew, an evergreen, can be poisonous. Trees treated with pesticides and fire retardants are also hazardous.

Ghent said that Scandinavian cooks came up with the idea of picking the needles, boiling and drying them, and then turning them into flavoured butter. 

“In Scandinavia, they have been doing it for a long time,” according to the advice given.

Personally. I do not intend to spruce up my buttered crumpets with pine needles. 

On the other hand, maybe the fire retardant may ensure that I don't catch fire when I throw another chair leg on the fire.

Alan M Etheridge, Sedgley

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