W HILE I doubt that anybody was particularly surprised by the recent report from Devon and Cornwall Constabulary that the problem of underage drinking continues to be a major cause for concern within the South West, it remains a national issue.

The difficulties of alleged teenage "boredom" in the rural areas combined with the excesses highlighted in our coastal resorts during holiday times does seem to exacerbate the situation for our counties.

I notice that there are "crackdown" measures in the pipeline to combat the problems but once again I am not sure that the police and other authorities are really in touch with the situation and the views of the public on the subject. The old fashioned, traditional British pub is an endangered institution nowadays. They have been closing at an alarming rate during the latest recession. Beer prices are at record levels (believe me, I do know what I am talking about on this matter) and while I do not automatically listen to the moans and groans of local licensees I do believe that they have some genuine cause for alarm at the moment.

According to the latest surveys, more than 50 pubs close every week and when located in towns, this may not be the end of the world. In smaller villages, however, it can be a social catastrophe — worse even than the loss of the Post Office, shops and schools (all of which dreadful happenings occur more and more frequently under this anti-rural Government).

If the Government is truly serious about the modern plagues of binge drinking, teenage drinking, the anti-social behaviour and the health problems resulting from these blights they need to review the disastrous relaxation of the licensing laws and then concentrate on the largely unregulated and under-controlled area of alcohol supply — the cheap booze sold by the supermarkets and other outlets. Most of our harassed club and pub landlords get faced with punters who have already "tanked up" before they hit the town late at night.

The easy access for underage drinkers is emphasised by the mounting piles of empties in our parks, bus shelters and other public places. The new "two strikes and you're out" policy for pubs caught serving minors is pretty harsh but if I see one of the major supermarket chains likewise losing their drinks license (nationwide!) and their chairman being personally heavily fined then, and only then, will I believe that the authorities are seriously trying to battle the drinking problems.

I am not holding my breath though. Surprise, surprise, all major political parties receive large donations from the supermarkets. No change in attitude there then!

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I NOTICE that Gill Down and other long-suffering residents of the Vineyards are still being hit by repeated power cuts. Sadly there is nothing new about this.

I lived in the Vineyards for a short while several years ago (yes, I know it was too posh an area for me and I returned to the rough end of Bodmin Street from whence I hail originally). However, power cuts are a flaming nuisance and frankly in this day and age should not really be occurring with such dreary frequency.

However, it should be noted that the elite crowd in this bijou part of Holsworthy (it's only what they tell me themselves) are not alone in their troubles. The garden suburb of Chilsworthy also seems to receive similar cuts (or at least in part) and I remember that family members as far away as Bradworthy used to ring me up just to check that they were not suffering alone. This weakness in the power supply system is affecting a wide area stretching north and west of Holsworthy.

I attended a meeting of Holsworthy Hamlets Parish Council last year when this vexatious subject was discussed with a representative from the power company. There is an admitted problem in the vicinity which becomes exacerbated in certain conditions and bang — there goes Gill and her mum and everyone else nearby, plunged back into the dark ages.

Well, not everybody, just to make it worse you can look across the road and the lights are shining brightly — different circuit/set up/link — call it what you will. I hate to be pessimistic but the representative, although as amiable and helpful as he could be, was not very encouraging about a swift remedy for the problem.

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ONE PLEASANT result of the very chilly weather on New Year's Eve was that not even the drunkest and loudest revellers were tempted to linger bellowing in the streets as so often happens and after I managed the few short steps from the doors of the Golden Fleece to my own front door, I enjoyed a nice peaceful and undisturbed night.

I suspect that I was also assisted by a very reasonable turn out from the local police who enabled the New Year to be seen in, in an orderly fashion. I did hear, subsequently, of one rare untoward incident and the person who reported it tells me that the police spokesperson at the end of the phone seemed strangely unhelpful and unwilling to hear about it (this actually contrasts somewhat poorly with the keen response of local officers on the ground).

It was probably the same phantom phone answerer that I ran into a couple of weeks before when I rang up about a premises alarm which seemed to have been going off for hours, in the middle of the night. He did not want to know about it.

Incidentally this alarm seems to have got itself activated a lot recently — is it faulty? Can they be setting it properly and, if nobody responds to it, what is the point of having such an alarm anyway other than to tick a few boxes on insurance forms.

An alarm belonging to another firm nearby went off several times last year necessitating several visits from our hardworking local volunteer fire fighters — who pays for this? Is it the firm with the false alarm problem or, as I suspect, the local council tax payer?