Letters, April 6, 2012

IN his Viewpoint article last week in the Mercury, Tony Mallion tells us: “I was chairman of Churches Together in Gorleston” (whatever that is) and is “a local journalist and broadcaster”. So what? Do these qualify him to write accurately about biblical truth? It seems not.

In his article he mentions a “Palm Sunday procession to the church” and “the start of Holy, or Easter Week”.

First, the New Testament never mentions a “Palm Sunday”, or a “Holy, or Easter Week”.

These are Roman Catholic traditions that entered authentic Christianity (as described in the New Testament).

Nowhere does the Bible say Christians should follow such practices, and New Testament Christians never did.

Secondly, God’s church is not a building, but a congregation of holy, Spirit-filled disciples of Jesus. Paul writes to the Corinthian Christians, “when you come together as a church” (1 Corinthians 11:18). See also Romans 16:5. A religious “procession” to a “church” building is a nonsense in God’s eyes!

Finally, Mr Mallion quotes “TV presenter and Chief Scout Bear Grylls.”

Let me quote the Lord Jesus to Mr Mallion: “In vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” (Matthew 15:9).

E BARKHUIZEN

Albemarle Road

Gorleston

No point if we

are over-ruled

WE vote for our parish councillors; what’s the point of doing so if there views and objections are over-ruled?

PETER TAYLOR

email

Make this the best turnout

IT’S nearly time for our borough council elections. Have you decided it’s not worth the bother going, as the same old people get in. That’s a silly attitude, when your vote could make all the difference to change the norm.

Do you vote for a Conservative, Labour, or Liberal candidate because that’s the party you prefer, or do you look to see who is actually standing and vote for the person you think would be the right one to represent you and Great Yarmouth.

Have you followed what the council has done and have councillors kept their promises over the last few years including to bring in tourists, see more jobs and a better environment?

Have our roads been looked after, have they talked to their constitutuents to see what they would like to bring prosperity to Great Yarmouth, in the way councils in other seaside towns have done?

In the last elections we were promised a harbour with lots of jobs, with roll-on roll-off ferries that would also bring tourists.

The old bridges were strengthened for just that reason, although calls for a new bridge fell on deaf ears, and we now know why: no ferry harbour, no jobs, plus it wasn’t built correctly.

Then there’s the 30-year gagging order: no questions will be answered about the outer harbour until 30 years have passed.

That’s not all: car parking fiascos, roadworks at the heart of the high tourist season in a high tourist area, it goes on and on. Even councillors bickering.

Me, I want promises for the immediate future, not 2013-2016, but now. The adage if you build it they will come, rings true. Who would want to arrive at a rundown railway station, or unimaginative bus station, or coach park?

Get local people to improve all this, give them jobs, you have to speculate to accumulate.

So, come on everyone, make this the best turnout for a council election ever.

DAVID BROWN

Yallop Avenue,

Gorleston on Sea

Bad experience

with special card

WITH reference to Jean Stacey’s letter regarding non-delivery of her Mother’s Day cards, we’ve recently had the same experience with a birthday card.

The card in question was a regular size but had a badge attached.

The sender had paid 1st class postage, so after paying a further �1.12 to claim it, you could say it cost nearly �2 for non-delivery!

There was no guidance on the card as to the postage required. Mrs. Stacey was told there were hundreds of underpaid items awaiting collection.

What becomes of those items not picked up?

With postal charges about to increase to 50p and 60p, it appears that the Post Office no longer wants our business, or are indeed they being primed for privatisation?

Unfortunately, all these charges are playing into the hands of social networking sites, where it’s no longer deemed necessary to take the time and trouble to send a card or write a letter to friends or relatives.

Just turn on the computer, type happy birthday and the job’s done!

It’s obvious that recently money has been spent on the postal service, with the arrival of trolleys to hold the mail and new uniforms.

Is this another pointer towards privatisation?

This letter is in no way critical of our postmen, whose dogged determination to wear their shorts in all weathers gladdens the heart!

PAULINE LYNCH

Bradwell

Help I receive is not a luxury

I AM blind and every day I face extra costs because of my sight loss. Disability Living Allowance (DLA) helps me with some of these expenses, so I am extremely concerned by the Government’s plans to replace it, spending 20pc less on a new benefit - Personal Independence Payment (PIP).

The proposed test for PIP fails to recognise the challenges of living with sight loss and that these don’t disappear over time.

This could leave me without support to do every day things that people with sight take for granted, like getting out to do food shopping, travelling to work experience or volunteering opportunities or paying for help with cleaning my home.

The Government said that PIP would be fair and support disabled people to remain independent, yet it seems that many blind and partially sighted people will be excluded.

The help I get from DLA is not a luxury; it means I can live independently. If you have concerns about PIP, information and help to contact your MP is available from RNIB at www.rnib.org.uk/campaigns

SIOBHAN MEADE

Gorleston

A street with no need for festival

LOOKING through the Ageless Opportunities Book, and coming to the last page: What’s on 2012, I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

Here in King Street, we have a nightclub open until 6am, nearly every shop selling alcoholic drinks and also open late, as well as pubs, restaurants and cafes all trying hard to make a living.

And now St George’s Theatre - �6m-worth. We were all looking forward to the opening of an art centre they said, with comedians, singers, plays and much more. But no-one mentioned a Beer and Cider festival in July. Do we really need this? I know one street that doesn’t.

Perhaps someone will tell me what this has to do with art? But I do know we will soon have more drink in King Street than water in the river and more work for the police.

Name and Address withheld

There should be a law against it

IN these time of austerity, with queues for petrol, questons about pasties, schools and surgeries closing and generally inept government, it’s nice and reassuring to see everybody pulling together – or are they?

Apparently not one petrol station where prices last Saturday were a whopping 10p higher for both unleaded and diesel.

Is there not a law against this sort of blatant racketeering? If not, there should be.

MIKE SPRAGG

Collingwood Road,

Great Yarmouth

Caister moving to the 21st century

IN reply to the article about too many homes in Caister ... for me (and I’m sure many others), Caister Parish Council comes across as nimby’s that object to everything planned in Caister.

What is so bad about building more homes? They are needed. The government has said thousands need to be built in the eastern region and they need to be built somewhere, including Caister.

The car park that Tony Overill refers to is nothing more than a large unused paved area on Charles Close. Rarely have I seen a car parked there.

Also, saying these developments use up green space; the former Esso site is hardly green space. It’s an absolute eyesore on the high street and I welcome some nice town houses being built there.

Other housing developments haven’t spoilt Caister at all. It’s a really nice area and a great place to live. The parish council needs to wake up and realise that Caister isn’t the little village it used to be years ago.

I’m afraid Caister is moving into the 21st century and helping to meet demand. I don’t know if the parish council are? Maybe they should embrace developments rather than moan about them?

Name and Address withheld

Appalled at lack of consideration

AS a resident of Caister on Sea, I am appalled at the borough planners’ lack of consideration for our parish council and how they act for our area. What right have they to over-rule what is discussed at our parish council meetings?

I agree with Mr Tony Overill: the latest plans about Charles Close are absolutely ridiculous. The residents need access to their properties let alone parking.

We had enough disregard when the estate was built in West Road. And look at the overcrowding there.

Why do the borough planners think they are gods and completely walk over us. Please let commonsense become reality and don’t build on Charles Close.

Name and Address withheld

This really is no April’s fool

AFTER checking the date, and in actual fact it was not April 1, I had to assume what I had learned was the truth about the continuing saga of the residents parking scheme.

The Conservative group, after wasting �10k on a consultation exercise that they had no intention of taking a blind notice of, are now going to scrap the scheme at a cost of �66k.

They are then going to form another committee to come up with a smaller scheme and consult on that (another �10k?) then they will implement that scheme – possibly another �66k!

These actions are despite the professional recommendations of officers that at the end of 2012/13 the scheme would be operating on a near cost neutral basis.

This, I would suggest, is a substantial cost saving and a better position to be in from a deficit of �97k last year.

Maybe an alternative and worthwhile cost saving would be to retire this gentleman from frontline decision-making all together.

On reflection, I think I would have preferred this news to be an April Fool’s joke because that way as residents, we would only have to suffer once a year from the decisions of this council.

Maybe the next time we can have some good news on May 3 when hopefully someone else may be making the decisions.

B CHAPMAN

Napoleon Place,

Great Yarmouth

My dog seemed to be poisoned

ON March 21 I walked my golden retriever Molly, as normal, on the site of the old Claydon School field on Beccles Road.

When we returned home I noticed she looked unwell, so the next day took her to my vets and they said her mouth, tongue and soft palate had been very severely burned.

He suspected it was a chemical burn and could not say what the extent of the damage would be. She was given antibiotics and painkillers and we were to bring her back a few days later for another check.

On the following Tuesday she seemed a little better but she couldn’t swallow her food very well and later day she seemed to get worse so I took her back to the vets and he told us she had had a stroke and was very poorly.

We had to make the decision to have her put to sleep which has been very distressing for my family.

I have since been told that another dog also on that field had to be put to sleep because of similar symptoms.

I walked around the field but could not find anything that I thought could have caused the damage to my dog, but I am sure something was dumped on that field that cost my loving pet her life.

I hope this letter will warn other dog owners to be very careful when walking their dogs on this field.

B LEWIS,

Berberis Green

Gorleston on Sea