GOD bless Shropshire’s paramedics and highly-trained ambulance drivers, but occasionally their hands are dangerously tied – and that hits the headlines. One Oswestry 20-month toddler had to wait five hours for an ambulance last year – the longest wait ever in SY11. Its needs were urgent enough, but eclipsed hour after hour by even more serious emergencies. Just as did a female, 61, who had to stick it out in SY12 land, that stretches from Ellesmere to Baschurch, simply because others’ needs proved more pressing with a frustratingly limited number of ambulances.

Cllr Dean Carroll, a Shropshire wellbeing committee member stressed: “I am most concerned... this is Oswestry. It is an urban area. I wonder if there is something fundamentally wrong with the service, if times are being missed so readily in these busy, built-up areas.”

Just like Boris Johnson suggested 20,000 more bobbies, any civilised society would double the number of ambulances AND hospital beds!

Radio Oswestry?

DO YOU fancy waking up to Radio Oswestry, Radio Ellesmere or Radio Llanfyllin? Ofcom has relaxed its thinking, promising hundreds of new local digital radio stations. Our town in particular gets a head start, by having a DAB transmitter on the higher side of Oswestry Racecourse!

The new thinking stems from small-scale trials four years ago where local DAB stations unlocked previous restrictions. Graham Plumb, from Ofcom, says: “People increasingly prefer digital radio and this could enable smaller stations to join this digital revolution. A consultation on the plans will run until Friday, October 4 before advertising licences early in 2020.

Ring that Bell

LOVELY to have Oswestry’s Bell Inn about to spring alive. Just an innocent looking sign, pinned by Star Pubs and Bars to the currently closed inn, heralds its reopening. And the great news is it’s already won the planning go-ahead from Shropshire Council.

Jodrell connections

JODRELL Bank in Cheshire has been made a World Heritage site which brings spin-off kudos to the lesser-sized linked satellite dish in Knockin. It is proudly one of its Merlin chain of seven connected radio-astronomy dishes scattered across England.

Polling views

YOU have until August 12 to post your view on where Shropshire polling stations should be based. But contact Shropshire County Council quickly, as they are being revised by December 1.

Crossroads petition

IF YOU feel strong enough that Llynclys crossroads remain extremely dangerous at peak times, as it sure scares the pants off me. So do sign the online petition you’ll find by searching online for ‘Llynclys crossroads need traffic lights’. It now nudges 1,000 signatures; but let’s at least double that!