Letters

IS it really a high priority for our town to have a makeover for our train station, and have the campaigners had a proper look at it lately?

Well I did last weekend, when travelling to London - both sets of toilets have had recent upgrades and were clean, the station area was clean and the only real down side was the unused kiosk with a note of repossession on it.

I have seen a statement by Mr Brandon Lewis saying his heart sinks when he arrives in Great Yarmouth station but the reverse happens for me and for many residents I am sure, as this journey through the marshes and around Breydon Water is a great uplifing experience.

Travelling to London I made a point of looking at the stations along the way and I assume Mr Lewis also passes the Chelmsford, Colchester, Manningtree stations on his way to Yarmouth from his Essex home. These main line stations were little better and all had poorly maintained buildings and scruffy approach areas. The worst of all, the approach to Liverpool Street station itself as we all know it is a disgrace to our capital city.

In addition, at the same time this spurious campaign is launched the operator has lost the franchise so there is little point in talking to them.

PATRICK HACON

Queensway

Caister

WHAT is a Luddite? A Luddite is someone who destroys machinery in order to save their job. Not relevant to the Outer Harbour as the jobs had already gone. A Luddite also abhors new technology - again not relevant to the Outer Harbour. A Luddite stands in the way of change regardless of the advantage to be gained - again not relevant to the Outer Harbour. If a Luddite is someone who cares passionately about the town she was born and brought up in and can't bear to see its assets plundered for no foreseeable return, then that makes me a Luddite!

PAULINE LYNCH

Mill Lane

Bradwell

RIGHT or wrong in this mayor saga, it would be more democratic to ask the people of Great Yarmouth what they want to do - after all Boris Johnson got voted in by the London people - as did his predecessor Ken Livingstone. I am in favour of putting this idea to the people of Great Yarmouth, let the majority decide - not the minority. The people of the UK will decide who will be fit for Government in May this year - so let the people of Great Yarmouth decide who will be fit to be their mayor - democracy at its very best.

NORMAN SMITH

Seymour Avenue

Great Yarmouth

I WAS appalled to read your item on the foxes found on Caister beach (allegedly poisoned), have the person or persons who did this gone mad, have they no apathy or regard for life? They obviously did not give any thought to what their actions may cause, a child could have picked the poison up let alone the dreadful suffering it inflicted on the three dogs that died and the foxes, the dog owners must have been devastated.

I know what I would like to do to the person who committed this dreadful act and I would do more than cut their paws off. I have foxes visit my garden and the little cubs are delightful, I do not see them as vermin, they are beautiful animals and I feel privileged to see at close quarters. I am not ashamed to say that I put food out for them. They certainly do not deserve to die in this barbaric way. Reality check for whoever did this, it could be someone close to you who picks the poison up next time!

ANGELA BAILEY

Beccles Road

Bradwell

THIS is about the jetty in Great Yarmouth. Are we going to lose yet another well loved spot on our seafront. The council should be ashamed even thinking of destroying it. The jetty has brought pleasure to holidaymakers and local people since I can remember, and that's a long time. Not only that, it is also part of the history of Great Yarmouth and should be preserved. So let me tell the council to think hard on their proposal to get rid of it and spend money on repairs. One good way for people to help would be buy a plaque and put it on the jetty for future generations.

MRS M FOWLER

Perebrown Avenue

Great Yarmouth

D BURKINSHAW, in last week's Mercury calls us "Luddites" but it wasn't us who broke the "machinery", we are trying to find out what went wrong and if, as we think, our council hasn't given ratepayers value for money in their negotiations with Eastport. By reading letters in the Mercury he will know that most of us were supporters of the outer harbour when we were told it would provide 1,000 local jobs and bring in a 120,000 potential tourists who would pass through Yarmouth giving our tourist industry the opportunity to attract a percentage of those to spend time here.

Residents would even be able to have short breaks on the continent. This was the outer harbour I was supporting but the goal posts were moved and the council has now taken on more liabilities than we had previously which means an extra cost to the taxpayers of both our borough and the county council - this means a double whammy for all of us.

Our council hasn't been open and transparent by not putting the change of plan to us to explain what the new benefits would now be. When the cranes arrived I began to wonder what they had to do with a ro-ro ferry service and we still haven't had any explanation from our councillors either left or right. Freedom of information requests, through flaws in the act, have allowed them to keep mum on certain aspects so a public inquiry will be required to bring all the facts to life. None of the councillors left or right will, for some reason make a move to come forward yet. What do they want to hide from us? Is it deficiencies of the council? Their loss of pride in not producing what they should or are there other reasons?

I just don't know but it certainly isn't democracy. This project should have been all about benefits for our community and if this couldn't have been achieved it shouldn't have happened.

It seems our councillors treat residents with little respect because once elected they have their own agenda despite what residents think. This agenda is cooked up by a small cabinet who have the ability to decide when the other councillors will raise their hands. We need individuality of thought and loyalty to us not a political party. They have asked to be elected so therefore should be responsible to us for their decisions and be open when we need information. Is democracy an out of date ideal in our borough, in fact the whole of the country?

Should we just roll over and forget our concerns?

DENNIS DURRANT

Brett Avenue,

Gorleston

I REFER to your article in Friday's edition re Great Yarmouth Jetty in which you state the Nelson left there for the Battle of Copehagen in 1801. Although it may be correct I can find no corroboration for this but I am fairly certain he would have used the Jetty when he was a less famous sailor earlier in his naval career.

However, I have the following quoting from the Norfolk Chronicle dated June 29 1801: “Vice Admiral Lord Nelson arrived at Yarmouth in the Kite (a) sloop, (commanded by) Capt. Domett from Copenhagen . He immediately proceeded on foot from the Jetty to the Hospital and visited sick and wounded seaman. After a stay of about three hours, his Lordship left for London under the escort of a group of Yeomanry Cavalry.”

I note from the book "Nelson" by Carola Oman (Hodder & Stoughton 1948) that the Admiral was unwell, probably though influenza, but was feted by German Royalty and other people opposed to Napoleonic ambitions and he felt he had to remain on station for as long as he could. He then boarded the smallest ship he could to leave the fleet off Denmark at maximum strength and landed in Yarmouth. Miss Oman goes on to say:

“Since his arrival in Yarmouth on July 1(?) the name of Nelson had been daily in the papers. Every reporter had drawn the picture of him passing slowly from bed to bed of the Naval Hospital presenting each nurse with a Guinea.” (Incidentally this was not St Nicholas Naval Barracks, built in 1809, but premises to the east of the Church.)

The fact that Nelson landed at the Jetty gives a clue to the importance of that structure. Although as Daniel Defoe states that “Yarmouth has the finest Quay in England', (Tour Through the Eastern Counties 1724) it was not always easy or convenient to sail a vessel into the river if wind or tide were contrary, whereas the jetty could be approached with care in most conditions .

Large vessels such as HMS Victory and other ships of the line could not be brought into Yarmouth Harbour but they could find some shelter in Yarmouth Roads, the sea area between the beach and Scroby Island. It was probably as convenient to provision the big ships from the Jetty as it was from the harbour, also, coming into port would have given the less willing members of the crews of his Majesty's Ships a chance to desert!

The first Jetty was built in 1560 early in the reign of Elizabeth I when relations with France were not good and by 1588 had became even worse with Spain. In this time the course of the River Yare was not fixed between piled quays and harbour piers and it was likely to meander where it would when the rate of flow was spread over a wider but shallower channel making the harbour un-navigable and causing in land flooding. Even when the Dutchman Joas Johnson had fixed the course of Mouth of the Yare it was not always as deep as was wanted. But the Jetty was available for the landing and loading of sea-going ships and in fact was Great Yarmouth's first Outer Harbour.

The history of the Royal Navy is well known for promoting the interests of the British Nation and for defending the country from foreign invasion and I suggest that Great Yarmouth Jetty, in all its many incarnations has been important for Naval and civilian shipping and that this has not been widely recognised.

ANDREW J FAKES

Chairman

Great Yarmouth Local History and Archaeological Society

PLEASE add my name in supporting the restoration of the jetty. Our heritage must be preserved.

GWYN KELF

North Drive

Great Yarmouth

EARLY last year our bus shelter, on Yarmouth Road, Hemsby was knocked down by an uninsured driver, since then residents and visitors have had to wait in all weathers for a bus while Great Yarmouth borough Council fights it out for insurance money to get the shelter replaced.

This bus shelter was one of the most used shelters in Hemsby. Several people have contacted the council to ascertain when a replacement shelter will be put up; as yet they have had no answer. It has been pointed out to the council that another bus shelter opposite the one that was demolished, is seldom if ever used and could be moved to replace the one knocked down, saving any expense for a new shelter. A figure of �7,000 has been mentioned to replace it.

The original was a wooden built structure identical with the one opposite and I fail to see how a replacement would cost anything like that kind of money. It's no joke standing there in the kind of weather that we have had recently and the sooner something is done about it, the better.

Martham has just had a beautiful new brick bus shelter erected after theirs was vandalised etc, so why are we in Hemsby still waiting nearly a year later. Come on all you people at the council, who are in the position to get this shelter in place, get your act together and save us from standing in wet freezing conditions for months to come.

P SUTTON

Hemsby

AS an enthusiast of local politics I'd just like to say how rare it was to see a story of a councillor taking action in his community. I am referring to the story about county councillor Tom Garrod organising a meeting to resolve the long standing issue of speeding along Caister Road. When I compare this to the likes of Cllr Castle and Mr Wainwright, who frequently use these pages to play party politics on issues such as unitary, street lighting, elected mayors and so on, it is refreshing to know that Cllr Garrod may represent a new breed of councillor who are in touch with the people who elected them. As Cllr Castle represents the same area that county councillor Garrod does, I suggest he takes a leaf out of Cllr Garrod's book by serving his residents and not his party!

J GREENACRE

Harlingwood Lane,

Old Buckingham

MOST people hear about bad workmanship or being ripped off by Cowboy worker but we rarely hear when things go right so I thought I would share my good experience. We noticed a leak from a pipe outside our house right near our driveway. It was not a big leak but was causing a large amount of water to accumulate outside our driveway. I telephoned Essex & Suffolk Water around 1pm and spoke to a polite lady who took down all the relevant details and said that she would pass it on to their department and someone would be out to take a look. I thought to myself this will take a few weeks.

Wrong. Within the hour a man arrived in a van and looked at the leak and went around the area with his listening device. After around 10 minutes he got on his mobile and spoke to someone and again to my amazement within 30 minutes a work crew turned up and began digging up the road around the leak. They found it, repaired it and were gone by the same evening. Throughout the whole repair the workmen kept me informed every step of the way. We moan about our workmen often but I want to praise these guys and especially Essex & Suffolk Water.

ANDY TRENTHAM

Stepshort

Burgh Castle

I READ with interest the article concerning the problem of cars not responsibly parking and causing an obstruction and traffic flow problems on Magdalen Way opposite the shops here in Gorleston. Perhaps when the enforcement team have solved that problem they could concentrate on the similar one on Church Lane outside the sixth form college.

I can understand the buses and coaches stopping to pick up the college leavers to take home but cannot see the need to have the driving school cars park on the double yellow lines and add to the problem. Seems ironic to me they are teaching young people to drive while also showing that parking on these lines are not an issue. Is it a case of do as I say and not as I do?

I know they are probably only there for a maximum of a maybe 10 minutes, but I guess that's all the ticketed or warned drivers were parked for when they had stopped to buy a paper, drink or cigarettes on the double yellow lines on Magdalen Way. I also know there is a zebra crossing near these shops but in the same vein the red strips of tarmac outside the college are now treated as a right to cross by the pupils who show no regard to traffic and seem to think they can just walk out in front of any type of vehicle on the road at the time.

MARK DURRANT

Email

UPON reading in a recent edition of the Great Yarmouth Mercury, Porthole section, I feel I must write to you about my own memories on the Guy Arab II utility bus. This was in the early 1950s when we, as a family, used to stay at the then North Denes camp. We would walk over Jellicoe Road bridge to catch this or sister bus at Beatty Road, which was service 2 to Barrack Estate or Fishwharf. If my memory serves me right the Guy buses had wooden slatted seats, a silver roof and the windows would open with a winder handle. As the bus turned round the conductor would turn the destination blind to Fishwharf or Barrack Estate. His ticket machine was a long one with a set price on each button with a ticket already printed. We used to alight at the town centre. These were fine buses to ride on as I have always been interested in the old Corporation fleet which at one time consisted of only double deckers. I was wondering if any of these early workhorses still existed? I recently retired from work and my retirement presents consisted of a diecast model of the Guy Arab and a setright ticket machine and rolls of tickets from 1976 GYT. More memories of the old Corporation buses happily (happy bus riding days).

GRAHAM STAFF

Headingley Road

Rushden

I AM writing to see whether any of your readers remember Harry Taylor, who had a grocer shop on Mill Road, Cobholm in the 1970s. I would love to find out more information about him and I hope by writing this letter I may be able to be put into contact with somebody who knew him and could help me build up a picture of him. I can be contacted on coopermenace@talktalk.net.

ANGIE ADCOCK