I FEEL compelled to write after reading letters in The Mercury last week from David Grahan and E Barkhuizen. I feel particularly sorry for the former, my experience of belonging to the Church of England is one of joy.

I FEEL compelled to write after reading letters in The Mercury last week from David Grahan and E Barkhuizen. I feel particularly sorry for the former, my experience of belonging to the Church of England is one of joy.

In my formative years, I needed help and guidance and the church were there for me. Although I was brought up in a wonderful loving family sometimes you need that extra helping hand which fortunately for me the church was able to provide.

I felt there was anger in one letter and resigned damnation in the other. My message is this: Christians only wish love and peace for all, unfortunately evil, in my opinion, does well and truly exist. Mankind at times does the most awful things, you cannot keep blaming God for all the ills of this world, sad events occur. In the end it's down to what you believe in, but certainly in this world it is up to each of us to be perhaps a little nicer to one another, to have manners and respect. It costs nothing, so to all I wish you love and peace.

PAT M WALKER

Gorleston

E BARKHUISEN is spot on. Keep away from anything that endorses false shepherds. Please read the book of Jude.

D ROGERS

Arundle Road

Great Yarmouth

I WAS quite interested in John Huggins letter (July 25) and I found it a bit strange that he claims to have found more “proof” that God exists than he does not. I would point out that you cannot prove a negative so this will be the case however you look at it.

I also do not understand how he can have more “proof.” More evidence maybe, but if there is proof then the case is proved. It is in effect a one off thing and I am positive that he does not have an actual proof. I also note his solution to God's failure to prevent child abuse is that God has set aside a day when he will deal with this, I note he does not say which day. Even if the child being abused has this knowledge I doubt it will be much comfort, nor do I think it will be a lot of help to the many people in the world who are currently suffering from the effects of ethnic cleansing, famine, civil wars or major natural disasters.

DEREK BROWN

Nelson Road South

Great Yarmouth

A REPLY to John Huggins: God exists. The trouble with believing in a God that supposedly created a perfect world only to have it spoiled by his greatest creation Adam, forever, is ridiculous. We are supposed to believe that this God created everything that exists, including the earth and every living organism on it (and if you watch nature programs you will know how very complex these life forms can be). But then when he comes to his greatest creation, created in his own image, he messes it up. His Adam and Eve screw it up in record time thus starting all the problems that we still suffer today. Not very fair is it? Surely he knew Adam and Eve would fail. And why trick them anyway?

The worse thing to blight mankind however is the mistaken belief that there will be a judgement day where justice will be finally served out to all the evildoers. It is because of this notion that God would always sort them out that has led mankind to avoid taking responsibility for reaching a civilised social solution himself. Without this homage to a non-existent God figure, society could finally come up with its own solution, create its own universal morality and bring about justice for all.

We will continue to condone the perverts and wicked people's acts until we realise there is no God and accept that we ourselves must exact retribution. Until then the perverts and evildoers of this world will continue in their evil ways and continue to escape true justice. Wake up people, please read the Bible with an open mind over and over again until you understand every verse, because then and only then will you reject all religion for what it really is. A fairy story.

DAVE GAHAN

Havelock Road,

Great Yarmouth

MY husband and I went out for our usual walk along North Parade promenade on the afternoon of July 20, passing the Waterways gardens, looking beautiful. As we got near to the bowling greens we heard brass band music and what a wonderful surprise, Great Yarmouth Brass Band playing their wonderful music; the deckchairs full of people and many more standing. Thank you Great Yarmouth Brass Band for giving up your Sunday afternoon to entertain us. We are quite sure many more people would have been along to listen to you if we had some announcement that you were going to be there.

Welcome back, and please, please come again soon.

W and F WHEELER

Arundel Road

Great Yarmouth

IN spite of it not being advertised anywhere, on Sunday afternoon we were treated to a lovely time with the Great Yarmouth Brass Band, giving a great sound. We would like to say thank you to the council for the free deck chairs. There was a little crowd there in spite of dark skies. We all enjoyed two hours of entertainment.

Mr and Mrs D DADE

Caister

I AM writing to express my disgust at the government's proposal to close the tax office at Havenbridge House with the loss of approximately 140 local jobs. Under the Department for Communities and Local Government 2007 Index of Deprivation Gt is ranked 58th out of 354 local authorities and has attracted high levels of payments both through UK (Assisted Area status/Urban Regeneration Company) and European Union (European Regional Development) funding programmes. In light of this, I do not understand how the government can remove jobs from an area that receives funding to create jobs. As a relative of someone affected by this, I urge you to support their campaign to keep jobs local by contacting your MP. This is not just about the current job losses but the future local job prospects of our children.

M NEWCOMBE

Westerley Close

Caister

A FEW weeks ago Asda announced they were no longer supplying carrier bags, so I purchased a few “bags for life” which I invariable forgot to take with me and then had to ask for bags to take my shopping home. It now seems they are once again supplying bags.

Next we have the Co-op who not only stopped giving bags but are charging 6p for ordinary plastic bags; I won't be shopping there again. Now we have Tesco jumping on the bandwagon and only giving bags if asked.

The days when people only needed a shopping bag for their meat and two veg are long gone and I object to having to pay for long-life bags advertising their stores. Also, is the money being saved by these firms being passed on to the customer?

Every other customer seems to be struggling out of the supermarket pushing a trolley full to the top with goods, so how many bags would you require to take home that lot? If these superstores insist in selling everything from a tin of peas to a television set then the least they can do is give you a bag to put it in!

PAULINE LYNCH

Mill Lane

Bradwell

MAY I through your paper praise the chaps of the Great Yarmouth and Gorleston street cleansing team who worked tirelessly and cheerfully all weekend to ensure that the areas of the Gorleston Cliff Top Gala were kept looking clean and tidy. Also to the team for having the foresight to install extra wheelie bins along the cliff tops, thus preventing overflowing statutory bins.

Their sterling work throughout what was a fantastic weekend showed Gorleston off at its very best.

JOAN MORRELL

Clarence Road

Gorleston

IT'S no surprise that Great Yarmouth hasn't got a blue flag for its beach this year, recently while walking the beach my girlfriend's dog rolled in human excrement. This looked to be from one of the encampments on the beach as there was a pile of food tins around it. This is unacceptable disgusting in this day and age.

The campers are those who frequent the Waterways huts during the day. What a greeting for holidaymakers who come to Yarmouth. I rang the police and was told it wasn't a crime unless someone was seen to be doing it, a bit of a double standard as I would receive a fine if I did not clear up after my dog.

The seafront is steadily becoming a no-go area. Many dog owners I talk to no longer go through the Waterways due to the crowd of drinkers that have taken over the hut at the end. Come on Great Yarmouth council, clear up this town.

Name and address withheld

LAST week saw the appearance of a giant 40m wheel on the skyline of Great Yarmouth seafront. After years of planning and searching, credit must be given to Albert Jones for managing to bring such a fantastic attraction to the town, which will hopefully benefit tourism throughout the area. The Great Yarmouth Wheel now stands alongside the likes of London, Manchester, Windsor and York as being the only other sites in this country to have such wheels. This should indicate the growing strength Yarmouth must have in being able to attract investment. Having shown the commitment and initiative in this venture, surely now the proposed Edge casino development at the south end of the Pleasure Beach should be approved and commence as soon as possible. Great Yarmouth could then most definitely be regarded as one of the countries top tourist destinations.

JOHN CALDON

Sharpe Way

Ormesby St Margaret

I BOUGHT a bird feeder. I hung it on my back porch and filled it lovingly with seed. Within a week we had hundreds of birds taking advantage of the continuous flow of free and easily accessible food.

But then the birds started building nests in the boards of the patio, above the table, and next to the barbecue. Then came the bird droppings; on the patio tiles, chairs, table, everywhere! Then some of the birds turned mean. They would dive-bomb and try to peck me, even though I had fed them out of my own pocket. Other birds sat on the feeder and squawked at all hours and demanded I fill it when it got low on food.

After a while, I couldn't even sit in my own back garden anymore. So I took down the bird feeder and in three days the birds were gone. Soon, the back yard was like it used to be - quiet, serene and no-one demanding their rights to a free meal.

Now let's see...our government gives out free food, subsidised housing, free medical care, and free education and allows anyone born here to be an automatic citizen. Then the asylum seekers came by the millions. Suddenly our taxes went up to pay for free services. Soon the cost of labour in manufacturing was so high because of taxation that the world looked elsewhere for its commodities, and the English workforce that led the world in heavy engineering were left scrabbling for subsistence.

Unlike the Welsh, the Scottish, and the Irish who have their own Assemblies to look after their citizens' interests, the English have no Assembly caring for theirs, but have a national government that has no real interest in the rights of the English.

It's just my opinion but maybe, just maybe, it's time for the government to take down the damn bird feeder.

JOHN L COOPER

Burnt Lane

Gorleston

WE are very sad to hear of the closure of the nursery run over the past years from Jack & Jill, Clarence Road, Gorleston. We have happy memories of this group who cared for my children, grandchildren and lately great-grandchildren. It was a regular aspect of our lives to drop the children off and collect them again, knowing they were with dedicated and caring people. I realise that numbers have dropped due to the opening up of other groups, but these ladies will be greatly missed. In fact, tears have been shed by children who attended in past years. One of the girls cried as she said: “I shall never see those ladies again.” At the age of three, she realises the gap being left in her life.

Mr and Mrs A NEWLYN

Tudor Walk

Gorleston

I AM a freelance photographer. On Tuesday, July 22, I visited Belton to take some stock photographs of village life. I walked up to a recently closed food shop and began to take various photographs of the windows, doors and abstracts of the building. Soon I was approached by a man who asked: “What are you doing?” I explained I was a freelance photographer but he then said: “We get a lot of poofs and perverts around here, you are on private property and you should leave.”

I was not on any private property as this is a car park once used by visitors to the shop, and there are no laws stopping anyone taking photographs of buildings from public roads or car parks. There was a gated yard some 100 metres away but I was nowhere near this. I am none of these stereotypes and found the comments hurtful and abusive.

I would like to publicly announce that anyone with a camera is quite likely to be either an amateur, or in my case, a professional photographer who would like to carry out his or her work unmolested, and not suffer the ignorant abuse I received in Belton that day. I am a member of the Bureau of Freelance Photographers and we all have a code of conduct which is available on a card which is carried with us at all times. I would have shown this man my credentials but he was more interested in calling me names and throwing his weight around. I should not have to justify my work but I would like to inform these sort of people that we are not queer or strange - just doing our job.

Belton has a wonderful array of photographic subjects, but I doubt I will return, which is a shame. I just wish folk would mind their own business.

COLIN JACOBS

Field View Drive

Lowestoft

THERE has been so much said about the current round of the boundary committee's examination of Norfolk and Suffolk, not a little of it aimed at the draft proposals that they have brought forward. I have capitalised the word draft intentionally as I have read a letter in which the proposals have been referred to as being “final.”

Let us start at the beginning, the reason we find ourselves being subjected to these boundary inspections is because proposals for unitary councils from Norwich City Council and Ipswich Borough Council were submitted to the Secretary of State, who asked the boundary commission to investigate the positions further and to bring forward proposals for possible unitary councils in the counties of Norfolk and Suffolk.

Draft proposals were brought forward on July 7. These are the much talked about and universally slated proposals that would see the inclusion of Lowestoft in a single huge Norfolk unitary council, a single large unitary council for Suffolk excluding Lowestoft and excluding Ipswich and Felixstowe which would join to form a Greater Ipswich unitary council. The committee also said it looked at proposals for a Norwich, Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft unitary, the so called “Wedge,” a larger Norwich unitary and the remainder of Norfolk and Lowestoft unitary, the so called “Doughnut” and finally a single large Suffolk unitary, excluding Lowestoft but including Ipswich and Felixstowe.

I would suggest that for the vast majority of people in both Norfolk and Suffolk the boundary committee has failed horrendously at the first hurdle, as there would appear to be very little support for any of the proposals.

There is a huge emotive cry in and around Lowestoft of “Born Suffolk want to stay Suffolk” which I wholeheartedly agree with.

We are in this situation because Norwich City Council and Ipswich Borough Council want unitary. But Ipswich does not want Waveney and Norwich does not want Waveney and the boundary committee wants to split Waveney up.

So what is the option left for us in Waveney, the answer is a Waveney District and Great Yarmouth Borough Council unitary. Yartoft is a misnomer, there has never seriously been a suggestion that would make Lowestoft and Yarmouth a unitary council, the proposal is for the whole of Waveney District and Great Yarmouth Borough (a population of 220,000 using the Boundary Committee figures). When Yarmouth and Waveney PCT was formed, Southwold fought hard to be included, this PCT would be a probable casualty of boundary changes as they presently stand and should this happen it is possible that healthcare will be controlled from Bury. Waveney and Yarmouth are already considered an economic sub-region, they share the same urban regeneration company.

The Boundary Committee is inviting comment on the proposals they have put forward, please do not allow a travesty to happen through apathy and please do not be led by the emotive cries of Norfolk or Suffolk without spending a little time to think the situation through and then making the boundary committee aware of what you want. Personally I feel the only option that could stop Waveney being split up is to form a Waveney District and Great Yarmouth Borough Unitary Council, an entity that already exists in all but name.

CLLR NIGEL DACK

Labour Group,

Waveney District Council

WHAT a glorious day everybody had with the Gorleston and Norwich Model Boat Clubs on their gala day with a superb display of working model boats and static boats around the yachtpond to the delight of the children joining in to steer the boats with the help of a club member. To their enjoyment, Bob Decker displayed his Titanic on water and Robin Burrows showed his static model of Titanic which took six years to build. Norwich Model Boat Club displayed their 4ft-long articulated lorries with radio control around the yachtpond perimeter. Robin Nichols won the best model shield for his model for the third time in succession to his delight and Mike Smith donned his waders to remove all the floating buoys and docks and cranes from the yacht pond to end a perfect day for the Gorleston Model Boat Club.

E COOKE

Newton Flotman

Norwich

PEGGOTTY'S article in a few weeks ago on Billy Bales, brought back so many glorious memories of Tuesday nights at the Caister Road stadium. Myself and friends, through the late Mr Percy Leighton (chief mechanic) and his wife Joan, got to know and speak to all our leather-clad heroes, as well as many famous riders from visiting teams.

A few years ago I wrote to Billy reminding him of those halcyon days and all the pleasure he and his team mates had given us. He not only answered my letter, but also sent me a photo of himself and a team photo. Billy truly was, and still is to all his fans, a great hero and will always be known as “Little Billy Bales,” with much affection, even though he is a grandad.

BARBARA DANIELS

Albemarle Road

Norwich

IF the borough council insists upon charging people with blue badges, I have two solutions.

Firstly, park on the double yellow lines as is the norm when Palmers car park disabled spaces are full, or secondly, let's all go to Lowestoft. There are plenty of disabled parking spaces and side streets near the shops to park in. Let's take our revenue out of the town and go shopping where we are made welcome.

Name and Address withheld

MAY I say what a wonderful weekend was had at the Gorleston cliff top gala. My wife and I had a fantastic time as I'm sure by talking to various people they did too. The highlight for us was the air show put on at 5.30pm last evening. The aerobatics were breathtaking. I would have loved to thank the pilot, and tell him that the whole of the cliff top and beach was silent during his entire performance. As animal lovers, my wife and I were a little disappointed that this year their charity stalls were nowhere to be seen. It's times like the gala that they are able to make a little money to help them look after the animals. They do a good thankless job helping to care for and house unwanted, abused and abandoned, dogs, cats, horses, etc.

DAVID BROWN

Yallop Avenue

Gorleston

I WAS pleased to see Mick Castle commenting on the late Ray Higgleton's involvement with the Newtown Community Centre. This follows the previous week's report on the meeting that took place at the Furzedown Hotel to discuss the options for youth facilities in the Newtown area at which I was asked to speak by the organiser, Carl Harding, about how Ray Higgleton started the centre. I think it important that we remember Ray took great pride in his desire not only to help the community he served as a councillor but in particular the youngsters in this area. It was through his perseverance with authorities that he managed to acquire the piece of land under the bridge adjacent to the racecourse as a base and then to get an all weather surface with a security fence surrounding the areas. However, his base was to be an old container from one of the oil companies - that was the start of the project and Ray continued running the centre with his wife Marilyn and many parents for many years until he was no longer able to and Carl took over the reins. Ray would have been delighted at the thought of a more purpose built centre with over 200 youngsters benefiting and this will not only be a tribute to Ray and his helpers in the early days but also to Carl and everyone involved.

TONY WRIGHT MP

WHEN the congregation of the original Victorian St James' Church building in Queens Road found they could no longer stay there because of spiralling costs around 15 years ago, they moved into their hall next door in Admiralty Road and created a dual purpose hall/church building. Since then a faithful band of people have kept the new St James' going as a beacon for the fifth poorest ward in England.

Until now the hall/church has met the needs of the worshipping congregation. But no longer! Today, we are seeing up to 10 young people in church on a Sunday and we are conscious that they need their own space. We are also determined to operate groups for children from the area at other times than Sunday's.

The problem is we are still very short of money and need to call on the generosity of local businesses who might have a surplus modular building (portacabin type) that we could site between the new and the old church to house our young people's groups until we can raise enough money to create permanent extra space within the building itself.

If anyone can help us I should be pleased to hear from you. You can call me on 01493 308711 or email revrjk@hotmail.co.uk.

Revd RICHARD KNOWLES

I NOTE that some of the potholes on the Beach Road Car Park, Caister have been filled.

However, it has since rained showing up numerous small holes some of which are already breaking up, so it will not be long before these holes become hazardous.

Would it not be more prudent to resurface the entire car park, putting in speed humps to prevent the idiots racing around and doing handbrake turns, which contribute to the break up of the surface, with clear markings so drivers can park correctly, have a few more waste bins scattered around to hopefully encourage people to throw their rubbish into containers rather than litter the area, have the 5mph sign turned to face the traffic entering the car park and not as they leave and to install adequate lighting as the light by the lifeboat shed has been out for several weeks and the lamp knocked down a year ago last March has yet to be replaced?

The car park generates money from parking fees, so this money could go towards the cast of resurfacing, etc. which surely must be more cost effective in the long run than continually paying to have the holes filled in and will also give the residents of Caister and visitors a more pleasant, safer place to park, picnic and enjoy the dunes and beach.

Name and address supplied

I TOOK it off my own back as a dedicated member of the Great Yarmouth Allotment Association along with well over 200 signatories to force the association into an emergency meeting. Unfortunately my meeting for August 4 was called off following a hurried meeting by the association.

Last December, a late annual meeting was a complete fiasco.

So where do we go from here? Following the recent committee meeting I just could not get any headway and decided to resign the following day. That decision then gave me the freedom to pursue my intention of telling the tenants the facts without me being gagged.

As I understand it, there is a meeting arranged for August 29 - the venue and time should be displayed at all group sites. At that meeting voting should take place for all positions of the association, which are president, chairman, vice-chairman, secretary, vice-secretary, treasurer and committee members.

The Association has a considerable bank balance and assets. I myself will be seeking to be voted on in some post. If elected I will endeavour to make our association progressive.

Please make every effort to attend the meeting. Every member now has an equal vote. Please put forward to the association any tenant who would be an asset and willing to serve on the committee. The ruling is that all interested parties should have a proposer and seconder, and all letters of intent should be in 14 days prior to the meeting.

At the meeting the selection will be done by ballot paper.

ARTHUR FISK

I AM writing to you following a family holiday spent in Scratby last week and wish to express extreme disappointment in the area's seemingly total lack of road safety provision and duty of care to families on holiday.

It was very stressful walking to the seafront with our three grand-daughters, two of whom are aged three and one of four years old. Driving standards in the area were generally poor. The road which is adjacent to the California Sands and Cliffs chalet sites has a ridiculous speed limit of 40mph. Closer to the sea this changes to an equally unacceptable 30mph on a narrow non-pavement track.

In the absence of simple traffic calming, boy racers and other drivers old enough to know better, whizz past family groups with no apparent regard for their safety. The area around the California Tavern car park is particularly hazardous. All these businesses are obviously trying to attract family trade.

We spent a lot of money during our holiday but will not return to Norfolk due to our concerns outlined above. I feel that the local councillors, traffic police and indeed the businesses should be far more responsible for pedestrian safety.

Remember that speed kills, and that child or adult cannot be brought back to life. Why not work together as a community to prevent accidents before they happen and become a genuinely family-friendly resort.

GAIL SMITH,

Lostock Hall

Preston, Lancs