Letter

I WRITE in response to Malcolm Metcalf (Mercury, December 19 - Poor Support for Bloaters).

The forthcoming “Legends” match is being organised by director of football Dale Gordon and chairman Stephen Brierley. This will raise lots of money for the club.

I agree attendances are down at first team matches, but sadly this is the case for the reserves and Under 18s too.

In order for the club to survive it starts at the top. We lack help on match days from committee members who have other commitments. As a Norwich City season ticket holder I include myself in this. However, as a match day helper I am present at all under 18 matches home and away. They are midweek.

The club is encouraging “youth”. Most notably with some fantastic under 18 players. Two or three of these are on contract with about four under 18 players in the first team and another four or five in the reserves regularly.

We also have a thriving young supporters group Yarmy Barmy Army. This is a group of 14 to 15-year-old lads who go to matches home and away with their flag and drum, adding spice to atmosphere on match days. I therefore think the club's future is bright.

Up the Bloaters.

PAUL HUBBARD

North Denes Road

Great Yarmouth

THE forthcoming football match between Dale Gordon's Norwich City Legends team against a Great Yarmouth Town XI, will give local people an opportunity to see some of Norwich City's best players over the past 20 years and should produce a very welcome and much needed boost to the finances of Great Yarmouth Town Football Club.

However, I must correct one piece of misinformation stated on several occasions in recent weeks in the Great Yarmouth Mercury, regarding Bill Punton. Although Bill had a distinguished career as a Norwich City player, he was not, in fact a member of the famous “Canaries” side that played against Luton Town in the FA Cup semi-final in 1959.

MAURICE KING

Avenue Road

Gorleston

I AM writing in reply to Mr Steve Knott's article on the village of Belton.

I am a Beltonian through and through and he has no place to write what he did, as he comes from Ipswich. Need I say more.

As for gangs; well the only gangs are the local scout gang shows and I would love to know where he saw these so-called “rabbit hutches” homes. I know they are starter homes but I dare say Ipswich has more of these than Belton does.

It wouldn't be so bad, but this was his first visit to this historic village and he doesn't even live there. So go back to Suffolk and slag off Ipswich and see how people like it. He owes an apology to the whole village.

RICHARD LINDSAY

Belton

GARIENIS Ostium is the Roman name of the estuary sought by your correspondent Harry Flaxman (Letters, December 24). However, he would be wrong to assume that the suffix -um indicates a plural. Otherwise Londinium (London), Camulodenum (Colchester) and Brannodunum (Brancaster) would all be tales of two cities.

Coincidentally, he could be correct in assuming that the Roman camps at Caister and Burgh Castle were both known as Gariannonum with the former being a summer fort (castra aestiva and the latter a winter fort (casta hiberna).

Surviving Roman records of this area are sparse and no maps exist to indicate the exact location, but Roman cavalry (the stablesian horse) were based at Gariannonum and the commander had the title of gariannonensis. The Romans had a large settlement at Caistor St Edmund (Venta Icenorum - “Market of the Iceni”) and Caister and Burgh Castle guarded the entrance to the estuary which led to that settlement. The Iceni name for the estuary is Garu-an (“rough water”) and the Roman name probably derives from this. The Romans were after all, masters of absorbing the cultures of their conquests into their own culture.

They used local tribal leaders as part of their government and it would therefore make sense for them to simply “Romanise” existing place names.

JOHN RUSSELL

Butt Lane

Burgh Castle

IN a recent letter to the Mercury Harry Flaxman refers to “Roman forts known collectively as Gariannum.”

There was, in fact, only one Roman fort in our area, and it was known as Gariannonum. It was built around AD 275 on the south side of what was then a very large estuary, to defend the area from attacks by Saxon pirates. On the north side of the estuary was the town of Caister-on Sea, whose Roman name we do not know. It had been founded about 150 years before as a trading port. In the early third century a stone wall was built to protect its inhabitants, but the only military garrison was a detachment of Balkan cavalry stationed at Gariannonum (Burgh Castle).

The -um ending of the fort's Latin name signifies a second declension neuter singular noun, as I hope some of my pupils from Gorleston Grammar School still remember!

BARBARA BRADNUM

Repps-with-Bastwick

RE: Gariannum. With reference to the letter from Harry Flaxman ( December 24) , I am sure I am not the only one to be able to reassure him from my school girl Latin that “um” is the singular with “a” being the plural. But thanks to Harry for stirring memories, I am sure for many of us, of past Latin lessons and teachers. Bellum bellum etc.

JOAN MORRELL

Clarence Road

Gorleston

REFERRING TO Harry Flaxman's letter in the Mercury of December 26 about the name Gariannum, I have little Latin, but believe that the name for London was Londonium, so is it not logical that our estuary should be Gariannum, not as he suggests.

R L FARMER

Marine Parade

Gorleston

THE Saturday before Christmas my family were in Great Yarmouth visiting relatives and I decided to take my 16 month old into town to finish of the shopping. We parked in Market Gates car park and, after having an enjoyable few hours in the town, taking in the festive activities, we returned to the car.

I was advised by a fellow shopper that I had to pay on level 3 before returning to the car, which I did. We had parked on the top floor, so with buggy fully loaded, we waited for the lift. I got back to the car to find it was very poorly lit, so I loaded the car in the quickest of time.

Once the shopping, buggy and my little one were all in we proceeded to make our way to the exit. Upon reaching the exit I inserted the token for the machine to tell me “insufficient credit”. I had paid the requested fee, so I rang for assistance.

When the car park attendant arrived I was bluntly told I only had 10 minutes from paying to exiting. I explained that I was informed the pay machine was on level 3 and as I was on level 5 I paid before returning to the car and had to wait for the lift for sometime due to the amount of people using it.

He then informed me I should have loaded the car then gone back and paid. I would like to remind the attendant that the police always advising against this and with a little one I just wanted to get loaded and out of the cold, especially as the open level I was on was so poorly lit.

The whole experience left my visit to Yarmouth ending on a very sad note, and left me upset at the way I had been treated and spoken to. If you only have ten minutes to exit, maybe you should pay at the exit?

Car park charges are going up and up, so a little customer service would be more than appreciated, especially during the season of giving!

Can I also ask why there are no parent and child spaces been made during the redesign of the car park? Trying to get a baby/toddler and pram out in the spaces provided is near impossible.

ZOE BURTON

Cambridge

THERE has been an interesting response to my letters and photographs re the leaving of dangerous fishing gear on Gorleston Beach, (Mercury, December 12).

Both Messrs Clegg and Didcott state that tides could be responsible and I can see the reasoning in that, but I must point out that the “bundle” of which we took a photograph was found well above the tide mark. Cannot we all be responsible for removing such objects and disposing of them?

I must state once more that I am not anti shore fishermen/women, having tried and found it relaxing and enjoyable. My only grouse was that the fish just would not co-operate.

And as for the replies which blamed dogs, or rather dog owners, for mess on the beach, I must comment that I do not think the majority of dog owners irresponsibly let their animals foul the environment. It is a minority who cannot be bothered to deal with doggy poo in a responsible manner.

There are occasions when a dog will run up to 100 yards away to defecate, which makes well nigh impossible to identify said deposit among the stones and shingle, but to leave such material on the flat sandy beach, esplanade, slopes and steps to the beach is totally inexcusable.

There also is the problem of human rubbish such as broken bottles, empty cans, remains of takeaway meals, cigarette butts etc, but it must be said those who leave that kind of trash are usually not amenable to reason.

My only motive in bringing these problems to public notice is to encourage everyone (and I include myself) in keeping our lovely breach clean and safe for all.

KEN HEALES

South Garden

Gorleston

AT our Ageless Opportunities Fun Day on Friday, January 9 to be held at the Priory Centre, we shall have a range of activities and demonstrations on the theme of warming up.

Should any of your readers have questions about energy - either ways of saving it or whether they are with the right company, we shall have a representative there who can help. It will be a great help if readers could bring along their last two power bills so that a proper comparison can be made. We hope to see people at the Priory from 10am until 2pm on Friday, January 9 when they can collect their new Ageless Opportunities directory and watch or join in a range of free activities and demonstrations.

KATE PLATT

Ageless Opportunities

Great Yarmouth Community Trust

The Priory Centre

I AM writing to you about the performance of Annie Warucks that I watched on Friday at the Marina Centre, Great Yarmouth. It was brilliant. I am a big fan of Annie and the sequel had all the right ingredients, and the cast portrayed the story amazingly. Millie Houchen was fantastic as Annie and she was the understudy; goodness knows how good Skye Brewer must have been. David Mattison playing Daddy Warbucks was just brilliant. In a day and age where young people get so much bad publicity I thought it only fair that I should help them with some good press. Well done Dusmagrik productions.

BETTY SULLIVAN

Queens Crescent

Gorleston

I HAD the pleasure of directing Annie Warbucks for Dusmagrik Productions and the cast of 40 young people were a dream to work with. With children across the country getting such bad press I thought it was only right to let your readers know how wonderful these youngsters were, very professional and they looked after each other just like a little family. Thank you so much to all the people who put in so many hours of hard work, cast and crew.

KAREN THOMPSON

DESMAGRIK Productions have done it again. Annie Warbucks was brilliant! The cast were a credit to young people in our area. The discipline and dedication of these young people make me feel so proud. I'm sure it takes hours of preparation to put this kind of show together. So three cheers for the young people of our town and I am looking forward to Memory Magic in April 2009.

A TOWNLEY

Kennedy Avenue

Gorleston

I WOULD like to say a huge thank you to the Clean Up Crew, who constantly have to cruise our streets and back alleys cleaning up dreadful things. Within a mere three hours of reporting dumped rubbish to the council these great guys had left the back road clean and gleaming!

Over the weekend someone with no shame, dumped two carrier bags of used babies nappies in Exmouth Road Back, these ended up strewn across the road. We also have “free to a good home” dumpers, this too ended up strewn across the road by kids having a lark.

Please put your rubbish in your bins, stop dumping it! Remember it could be your husband, brother or son who has to clear it up.

Thank you very much to our Clean Up Crew - you are the unsung heroes.

LYN BYFORD

Exmouth Road

Great Yarmouth

THE Royal National Institute of Blind People is the main UK charity to provide help and support to people with serious sight loss. We rely on voluntary contributions to keep our services running, which blind and partially sighted people in this area rely on.

Throughout the East we receive fantastic support from the general public but we have one desperate shortage, people to support our existing volunteers. The Volunteer Coordinator role is new in the East, you will ideally enjoy driving around the county, meeting existing volunteers, inducting new volunteers and helping raise the profile of RNIB. The voluntary position is as involved as you wish it to be.

If you can spare a couple of days a week and like to get out meeting new people maybe you are the person we are looking for. Full training and ongoing support will be given and all out of pocket expenses paid.

If you would like more details please phone Jackie Cameron on 01603 262427, I would be delighted to speak to you.

JACKIE CAMERON

Community Fundraising Manager

RNIB, Norwich

MAY I send this message to all those who came to my rescue on the afternoon of December 28. While shopping in Woolworths in Great Yarmouth I had a blackout while trying to get out of my mobility scooter to get an item from their shelves and I ended up with a nasty bang on my head and face. I would like to thank everyone who came to my aid; the staff and members of public.

I did get back to Gorleston safe and sound and I would like to offer all my thanks for their help and courtesy for everything they did and I wish them all the best for 2009.

ALFRED LEARMONTH

Paston Road

Gorleston