Wildlife habitat (From Daily Echo)

Wildlife habitat

12:30pm Monday 6th August 2012 in Readers' Letters

WITH reference to the letter by M Rickards (Letters, July 28) concerning the state of the Southampton Cemetery, I’m not certain he/she is correct in the belief that everyone would like to see it cleared (manicured) and tidied up in general.

This is a wonderful wildlife habitat and I’m pretty certain there are many who share my views and apart from general grass cutting and path clearing it needs little else to keep it as such.

I’m also certain that anyone who is still concerned about family graves (and there are quite a few still there) are able to keep them tidy and weed free (I must stress that I cannot defend vandalism).

My own family has a maternal grandmother in an unmarked grave (this was a shared grave with someone from my mother’s side of the family) and there was no money available in 1936.

I know near enough where the plot is but not exactly, but that is all I need to know.

My own parents are dead now, in Hollybrook cemetery, and of course we tend their grave.

In my view there is altogether far too much clearing of wild places such as this which spoils the whole aspect of what it has naturally become.

After all, it couldn’t possibly have become like it has if the relatives and families had tended or been interested in the plots, many of which are dated in the 1800s.

L A O’BEE, Southampton