SIR — I felt I should write with regard to a recent incident which illustrated all too well that a spirit of generosity is alive and well in West Somerset and that there are still people around who are willing, without hesitation, to help in a crisis.
Last Wednesday evening, a sudden and torrential downpour of rain caused water to flood into the tents being used by our scout troop, who were camping for the week in the vicinity of Minehead.
All the sleeping bags were soaked which meant that, unless they could be dried, the party would have to abandon the camp early and return home.
One of the leaders put the bags into his car and took them to town, only to find that the local launderette, where they could have been dried, had closed for the night.
Using his initiative, he then went to Butlins where, he reasoned, drying facilities must be available. They, however, without explanation, refused to help in any way (although the gate staff, at least, were sympathetic to his situation).
He finally ended up at the Yarn Market Hotel in Dunster, where the management could not do enough to help, immediately making their drying facilities available, with the happy result that the leader could return to camp with dry sleeping bags, and the boys and girls of the scout troop could enjoy the rest of their week in West Somerset.
Simple acts of kindness such as this clearly generate an enormous amount of goodwill, and larger organisations could do well to learn from the example set by the Yarn Market, whose generosity will be made known around the county as our scout leaders, several of whom now live or study outside Somerset, return to their homes.
Mike Bussell,
Group Scout Leader,
1st Crewkerne Scout Group.