GOOD news that the cathedral, Theatre Royal and the Watercress Line in Alresford have received emergency funding from the Government that protects their future into the New Year.

And, whilst sad, the prohibition of the fun fair in Alresford is the right, if belated, decision, that could have been made a couple of weeks ago, without the benefit of hindsight.

As much as the physical danger of Covid-19 an equally important threat is the attack it is making on our cultural lives. A world without the church, arts, theatre, music, fun fairs and steam trains, would be a world stripped of beauty and meaning. Those familiar things like pubs, theatres, galleries, museums are part of our lives, part of the air we breathe. To be without them is almost unbearable to consider.

The annual fun fair in Alresford, when the rides take over Broad Street as they have done for more than 100 years, is a vital, eccentric part of the character of the place, one of the ways of giving Alresford its local identity.

If this accursed coronavirus has given us one thing of benefit, it is never to take these things for granted.