Letters

WITH reference to the comments made by Mr A Smith and Mr D Hadingham of Bradwell in last week's Mercury.

Neither my husband nor myself throw rubbish of any kind over the cliff or on to the beach below, we put grass cuttings and hedge trimmings etc, over the edge which has over the years encouraged new growth to help keep rain and wind erosion at bay.

We have far too much respect for our environment to flytip. Incidentally, I understand from other residents that they received letters from the borough council encouraging them to put garden waste over the edge of the cliff.

MR AND MRS RYDER

Beach Road

Scratby

AS someone who was living on Scratby cliffs until I returned to Bradwell almost three years ago, may I make a couple of points which were probably not known to last week's letter writers.

Firstly, many of the cliff dwellers own down to the high water mark so they cannot be fly-tipping on their own land.

Secondly, when you live on a clay cliff you are aware that the surface is vulnerable to rain, frost and sun and it needs the protection of the vegetation growing on it to weather-proof it. Green garden waste is not unsightly from the beach but it does merge with what may be growing to thicken the protective layer.

There is no question of anything being dumped on the beach itself as was suggested by my namesake last week. The anti-social element came from people from outside the village coming onto the cliff to dump loads of rubble or old mattesses, gas bottles and batteries.

ALAN SMITH

Lilac Close ,

Bradwell

I AM looking for a vintage Great Yarmouth marina poster. I used to visit Yarmouth in the early 1950s and had some great memories of Neville Bishop and his Band.

I am now 67 and living in Florida and will never forget Yarmouth and the Marina. Can any reader help?

TONY SHROUDER

ashroude@bellsouth.net

HORSE rider killed in Bradwell - makes a pretty horrific headline and thankfully not yet factual, however, I fear one that local residents and visitors may soon be reading within these columns.

There is an increasing disregard by a “small percentage” of car and van drivers for the safety of horses and riders alike on our local roads. I say small percentage as the majority of road users do show respect, common courtesy, manners and compliance with the Highway Code.

Quote: The most vulnerable road users are pedestrians, particularly children, older or disabled people, cyclists, motorcyclists and horse riders.

Rule 215: Advice for drivers, horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles. Be particularly careful of horse riders and horse-drawn vehicles especially when overtaking. Always pass wide and slowly. Horse riders are often children, so take extra care and remember riders may ride in double file when escorting a young or inexperienced horse or rider. Look out for horse riders' and horse drivers' signals and heed a request to slow down or stop. Take great care and treat all horses as a potential hazard - they can be unpredictable, despite the efforts of their rider/driver

As hard as I tried I could not find within the code, anywhere that stated drivers shall drive past as close as possible to the horse and rider, touching where possible and gesticulating with clenched fist, one or two finger salutes and shouting and swearing at the poor rider, whom by now is potentially dealing with a frightened animal that could rear, bolt or shudder the thought, damage the car driver's pride and joy by kicking out in defence and damaging the vehicle.

Unfortunately, occurrences such as the one described above, are becoming far too frequent and very soon we could be reading the headline that started this piece. Off road bridleways are limited in this area and hence I request by means of these pages, the following: Please show courtesy and respect for other road users, in this instance horses and their riders.

We have a legal right to use the public highway and all we are asking is consideration and patience. We understand you may be in a hurry, late for work or whatever other reason, but you will be more than late if you cause an accident, in fact you may not make it at all, and nor will the horse rider.

MICHAEL ROGERS

Raven Close

Bradwell

I WAS very interested in your article dated July 22 regarding Stan Mayes and Jack Bussey. I was evacuated from Cobholm in 1940 to Langold, together with my friend George Folkes who lived nearby.

We stayed with the Woodwood family, they had a son Tom.

My parents then moved to Leicester, to be with my father's brother, which was temporary as the war was going to be over by Christmas!

I still live in Leicester, married with two children and three grandchildren.

I sadly lost contact with George after a few years, I recall he had several sisters.

If anyone has any recollection of these times I would be delighted to hear from them.

I still keep in touch with Yarmouth as I have several cousins still living there.

DENNIS PALMER

Leicester

dwpalmer@btinternet.com

RETIRING from Stradbroke Primary School after working almost 30 years in the school office and classrooms, was an extremely emotional experience.

I was overwhelmed by the kindness shown to me by so many. I cannot possibly reply to each and everyone of you individually, however, I thank you all sincerely for your cards, gifts and good wishes.

Pupils, parents, staff and ex colleagues presented me with a television, patio garden set, a reading lamp and drinking glasses. I am absolutely thrilled with these gifts.

To those who came to the leaving party, thank you for making it a fantastic evening with the help of all at Browston Hall. I will treasure the memories.

EILEEN KIRBY

Fern Gardens, Belton

Thank you Mercury Opinion for adequately summing up my ramblings. No one could have done it so well.

My hazy idea envisages a parade being held at a time when the town is full to bursting to justify two big military bands, unfortunately this would seem to be at variance with other relative dates.

I doubt that the public would “demand” such an event as most of them have not been around at the time of these bands regular appearances (often at top football grounds). You hear them from a distance and everyone moves towards them. Of course there will always be plenty of ex-servicemen.

I would hope for a military band in front and rear and the Hemsby Marines Band in the centre, well spaced out of course to keep the people there with any “suitable” floats in between. Usually parades have a big band at front then everything fizzles out.

Only the Royal British Legion will be aware of the problems that might have to be faced.

DEREK COOK

Middlestone Close

Gorleston

FURTHER to the UFO subject in last week's Mercury, I would like to stress that the sightings my friend and I saw looked nothing like the photograph taken by the gentleman in Hemsby, and what we witnessed appeared on Saturday, May 1 this year, prior to the release of the lanterns.

My description of it to Brandon Lewis was sufficient for him to have taken it seriously, which it should be and I thank him for that.

There are always people ready to take the micky, that's the fun of life and I would probably be the first to join them. I am reminded of the first radar systems, the first laser beams and even the dreaded doodle bugs of my younger days and the stories that surrounded their beginning like “being caught up on a beam” and so on, but how true the factual turned out to be.

Things have progressed at such leaps and bounds over the past years that most people cease to wonder or even notice what is going on around them and in these enlightened days if there is something odd or unexplained going on around us we should know about it.

I know what we saw, quite close up and like the radar, the laser beams and things spitting fire out of the back of them, only time will tell about UFOs.

HELEN E LANGSTONE

Rampart Road

Great Yarmouth

I'VE always thought that Ludham was the quintessential embodiment of what a quaint old-fashioned village should be. However, I was appalled to read that firework displays are allowed in the cemetery. No wonder there is little respect for the dead these days.

I shouldn't think that the catherine wheels are the only things turning in the graveyard!

PAULINE LYNCH

Mill Lane

Bradwell

I SPENT one year in North Africa in 1956, at the time of the Suez problem and two years in Cyprus in 1957 and 1958 at the time of the EOKA problem, both for useless causes.

I witnessed several of my friends and fellow soldiers killed. We were defenceless enemy targets. Absolutely no good came out of these missions.

Why do we continue to meddle and poke our noses into other peoples' affairs, when we do not understand their religion and their cultures? We did no good in Iraq and we are doing no good in Afghanistan.

We were promised by politicians in the 1950s that involvement in other peoples' affairs, which involved warfare, would never happen to our nation again.

We have too many problems in this country to resolve, without interfering with other countries' problems. Unfortunately, we do not seem to have the right people in power to resolve them, but that is another matter.

If we need to advise other countries on how to run their lives or manage their affairs, we have thankfully the blessed and wealthy Church, whose members' dedication, intelligence, knowledge and time are grossly under-utilised and have been so for my lifetime, at least. They should have been solving these problems, most of them arise from religious not political differences and are religion-based.

May I conclude by suggesting that the past is the past and should remain so. We do not need to be reminded of our weaknesses.

CHARLES STENNER

I THANK you for your coverage concerning Penny Cox who was simply asking why can't blind and partially sighted patients from across Great Yarmouth receive the same full-time professional counselling support from the NHS that patients with other conditions can receive when they need it most.

Statistically nine out of 10 people say they fear losing their sight more than any other sense. There is no magic wand that can restore the joys and riches of seeing. Nevertheless in the last eight years I've worked with a handful of blind and partially sighted people from across the country who after receiving practical support and advice from an eye clinic liaison or support officer (ECLO) they have gone on to live full successful lives.

Sadly I know that far too many blind and partially sighted people who having not received ECLO support have effectively given up hope of ever living a full and independent life.

With 92 out of every 100 blind and partially sighted people never receiving counselling, this appalling lack of full time support within the NHS needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency both locally and at a national level.

BILL ALKER

Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)

105 Judd Street

London WC1H 9NE

I HAD a similar problem getting through to the RSPCA and finding someone who cared as did R Cornwall (letter July 30).

It was very frustrating as the dog has been out in heavy rain for at least four hours if not longer. Luckily I managed to find a relative who put the dog indoors.

I hope R Cornwall will not ignore the problem should it happen again. We are talking about an animal's life.

J GOODWIN

Gorleston

IN reply to Bigger service for armed forces day for June 6, to coincide with D Day.

Of course this is a must, our sons and daughters give their lives because of love and devotion for their country as I am sure other countries feel the same about their sons.

But it's depressing to see and hear that so many people

today seem only to care that

which only affects their daily

lives and any showings to make regards to world war two is not

only avoided but also misunderstood.

I feel the same applies to our lads, as long as it doesn't happen

to them, the general public

appear not to care enough, it's just some other mother's son.

So let's waken them up and

have the biggest parade. We

can show how proud we are of those lads and lasses who lay down their lives for freedom and may God bless them, they are all heroes; now lets show how much we all love them.

R FIRMIN

Havelock Road

Great Yarmouth

MY son came off his motorbike down the seafront the other night, only to realise when he got home his wallet was missing from his jacket pocket.

Thank you to the person who found it and thought they would keep it and his hard earned wages but discard his driving licence on the pavement.

But thank you also to the kind person who took the time to hand his licence in at the police station. It's nice to know there are still people who find things that are not theirs and hand them in. I hope you spent his wages wisely.

S WEBB

Pound Lane

Filby

WITH reference to the London cycle hire scheme during the war the Toc H branch had two cycles, each with a yellow stripe on the rear mudguard. The cycles were placed, one at Southtown station and the other at Vauxhall station.

The cycles were used by soldiers getting to and from the stations when either going or coming back from leave. At the end of the war neither cycle was stolen but returned to Toc H.

CECILIA EBBAGE

Lovewell Road

Gorleston

IN reference to Theresa Whitmore's letter with regard to the police's slow response to smashed glass in her grand-daughter's door.

Does she not realise that the police prioritise incoming calls? It is highly unlikely if they had come round straight away that they would have caught the culprit. Whilst I appreciate that petty crime is annoying, I would suggest that they have to respond primarily to incidents where personal danger is involved.

Unfortunately my partner

was an alcoholic and I had to

involve the police on numerous occasions, each time they responded swiftly, and dealt with the problem with professionalism, and the utmost respect and care for myself.

I do hope Theresa Whitmore and her family do not have to put this to the test regarding their own personal safety, but if they do, I do not expect they would be too pleased that a smashed window had taken priority.

I regularly see community support officers patrolling around, and as far as the boys and girls in