The worthy and the not so worthy

 A fit young thing working out in front of Verily Fitt’s inspirational poster at her gym

A husband and wife team who run Adam's Jewellers in Petersfield are set to holiday in Tanzania later this month, and will climb Kilimanjaro while they are there.

Verily Fitt (39) told reporters: "I'm incredibly fit; I row, use the stepper and go to the gym every day. I hear the chaps who come into the jewellers say ‘She's fit’, and did I mention that I'm still in my thirties?"

Verily's husband, Otto B. Fitt, has also been in training. "I take my dog for a walk on Butser Hill most days; that should see me all right,” he said.

"I know it's not as steep, not anywhere near as high and that it hardly constitutes as altitude training, but I'm sure I will be fine. I only start to wheeze as I get near to the top.

"If for some reason I struggle, Verily has said she will carry me the rest of the way. She's trained at the gym, and on the stepper and on a rowing machine and everything. She trains every day you know. She's properly fit."

The husband-and-wife team decided that while they were holidaying in Tanzania, they might as well raise some money for a very worthy cause, Research into Crohn's Disease. They have also decided to give half of the money they raise to Petersfield's The Big School (TBS).

We asked the pair why they were not giving all the money to the worthy cause.

Verily Fitt told us: "If you think I'm fit now you should have seen me when I was a student at TBS. I was forever winning prizes for sports events.

"All I lived for was going up and collecting prizes and I want our children to have that same opportunity, so we will be donating a selection of trophies to the school.

"When I say I will be donating, we are hoping for enough sponsorship to pay for the trophies obviously.

“By donating half of the money to a properly worthy cause we hope more people will actually sponsor us.

"Every evening when our children return home from school they walk down our hallway and pass all of the awards I won as a student. I want them to win a few awards of their own, then they shouldn’t have to feel so embarrassed.”

Park to push up Petersfield house prices

A view across Butser Hill earlier today,

before the builders moved in

Petersfield estate agents say house prices could rise by as much as 15 per cent as a result of the area gaining National Park status - and the answer, they say, is to build more houses.

Simon Sneer of estate agents Sellit & Rest told Petersfield Newswire: "It is clear to anybody with an estate agent's brain that the only way to rebalance the market is to increase supply.

"We have identified prime land just off the A3 which offers breathtaking views of the South Downs and could accommodate 400 ugly houses, crammed into stupidly narrow roads and all with those silly little windows you get these days. It's called Butser Hill."

A spokesman for the campaign group Petersfield Residents Against ThingS (PRATS) added: "This is just the sort of thing we like to get indignant about. And what's more normal people may even agree with us on this one.

"It's a very exciting time to be a PRAT."

All downhill from here

How Petersfield's Leigh Park-inspired Olympic flame would look

Petersfield Town Council (PTC) has made a surprise bid to stage the 2018 Winter Olympics.

I C Roads speaking on behalf of PTC said: "We have been monitoring the situation in Vancouver very closely and think we are up to hosting the event in 2018.

"This may sound a bit pie in the sky, but Vancouver had some bad snow like us, theirs has all melted, so they are having to get fresh snow shipped in or manufactured by snow machines.

"The Canadian event has been plagued by parking, transport, and hospitality problems and we think we can at least match what they have achieved.

"I see most events being held on Butser Hill or Harting Down, with some of the other sliding nonsense taking part on some of the downhill stretches of the A3, which at this time of year won't be gritted.

"To add a contemporary feel we can call upon our neighbours in Leigh Park to provide the eternal flame, they can keep those cars alight for weeks so this would hardly be a challenge."