Letters, December 2, 2016

Can I through the letters page ask the person/or people who are allowing their dog(s) to foul the pavement on Springfield Road, Gorleston to stop please. It’s not pleasant, it’s a health risk and it’s against the law. If you fail to stop I will make it my business to find out who you are, gather evidence and present it to the appropriate people to allow them to prosecute.

RUSSELL DRIVER

Springfield Road,

Gorleston l

Walking Football is fun game for all

Walking Football is a fun game, similar to the Beautiful Game but with no running, specially intended for those aged 50+, men and ladies, to provide exercise without feeling under pressure to overdo it. It can also be suitable for someone of any age while recovering after injury or accident and returning to full mobility, as long as they are able to walk unaided. With the support of Great Yarmouth Town Football Club, the first taster session for new players will take place at an indoor venue on Tuesday, December 13 at 7pm. Anyone interested in knowing more, or in attending the taster evening, should contact John Miller on 07773 330405 or by email at amberforever@hotmail.com

JOHN MILLER

Email

Greenacre School reunion planned

Those who came to the last Greenacre School reunion in 2014 should have received a telephone call, email, or letter from me by now, if you had put your name in my little black book. But just in case I have not contacted you or you haven’t been to one of our reunions before here are the details: it’s being held at the Rumbold Arms on Friday, February 3, at 7.30pm with a buffet and music. The reunion is for anyone who left the school before 1962. Interested? Contact me on 01493 650395 or 07510 258544 for a chat.

NANETTE SMITH

Olive Road,

Cobholm

I am the child of an immigrant

I assume when John L Cooper refers approvingly to the “strong” nationalism in Austria, he means the right-wing Freedom Party of Austria (FPOe), currently in the running for the presidency. Like Marie Le Pen’s National Front in France, the FPOe has direct links to the losing side of the Second World War, and has the same history of corruption; anti-immigrant hysteria, and murky, implicit anti-semitism. My economist friend is, to be sure, far from implicit in his belief that Brexit is bad. I believe the same thing, and as the bad news piles up I’m beginning to know Brexit is bad with the same degree of certainty he has. To hold these opinions is not undemocratic, although claiming them to be with an eye to permanently disenfranchising them could be. This leads me to his puzzling suggestion that a Brit may do my job after Article 50 is triggered. I am a Brit, although seeing as I am the child of an immigrant born to refugees, perhaps I do not qualify for his previously stated desire of an “England for the English”. Although he strongly claims this not to be racist, to me it is not racist in the same way that Rene Magritte’s picture was not of a pipe, and in combination with the above political admiration and belief that certain points of view are undemocratic, it is worrying.

ANDERS LARSON

Great Yarmouth and Vienna

Fantastic time at Christmas Market

Just a quick message to say how fabulous it was there was so much local support for the Christmas Market. As a struggling local shop owner we decided to bring our products to the Christmas Market so we could let people know we existed in Great Yarmouth. We obviously don’t have a large marketing budget. We had a fantastic weekend! Special thanks to the GYTCP and GYBC teams for all their efforts. Jonathan Newman, Laura Goodman and new market manager Mandy, worked their socks off, as did the press officer at GYBC, David Wiles, to bring lots of events together creating a packed, fun and interesting weekend. It was a well organised and safe event and I look forward to helping to make it bigger and better next year.

DONNA IOANNOU

IJustWannaCandy

Regent Street,, Great Yarmouth

Can message save human souls?

In her “Viewpoint” article on November 18, Mrs Bunn says: “This year in my churches, as part of the service, we shall make a Christmas cake to be enjoyed at our Carol Services. What fun to share in the making of the cake and for everyone to have a good stir!” First, there is no “Christmas” in the New Testament. Second, “carol services” are another add-on to the Bible. And third, as for making a cake and having “fun” during a church service? What would the apostles and prophets Jesus used to found His holy church have thought of this? Can the message of this new religion, found nowhere in the Bible yet widespread in the UK, save human souls from the eternal fire where most, Jesus says, will go for ever? The living God and Creator warns: “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8).

E BARKHUIZEN

Albemarle Road,

Gorleston

Gorleston second in the queue again

Praises must go this week to the Great Yarmouth Mercury and our MP Brandon Lewis. Why, you may ask? Because of how the problems with our quays on the Gorleston side of the river were highlighted in the Mercury. The GYM, on a full page, reported there was nothing to concern ourselves about the voids under the Bollard Quay; there is also the satisfying response from the council to Brandon Lewis MP that there is nothing to fear about quay heads collapsing. The voids were caused by ship bow-thrusters.

The GYM photograph highlighted the destruction of the quay adjacent to Gorleston Icehouse.

In my numerous calls for the quay to be repaired followed up by our MP, GYBC said the quay is nothing to do with us! Look at the photo and go to the spot shown in the picture. I spoke to the owner of the Icehouse; his quay is old but serviceable, the part that is falling in is as shown in the photo to the north of the Icehouse.

In 2007, the GYBC managing director was fully conversant with the decision to take over the maintenance of the quays on the West Bank and in an email to me and at a county council inquiry stated: “There is plenty of money to repair the quay” in response to my asking for the West Bank to be repaired.So why seven years later are they trying to pass the buck to a private individual?

In a GYBC Green Paper dated 2007, it states in detail what the state of the West Bank quays were in. I have shared the Green Paper with the owner of Gorleston Icehouse. The only quay that would be a problem was that between the Pilot Station and Darby’s Hard, the Green Paper states. There is no mention of quays being privately owned. However, there are quays that are privately owned between north of Bollard Quay and Haven Bridge and which the Environment Agency has spent £28m on. As usual, Gorleston is second in the queue where finance is concerned. The GYBC Green Paper shows the council approval so please use the money received from leasehold council property that GYBC said would be used, and repair the quays before Riverside Road is flooded again.

JOHN L COOPER

Burnt Lane,

Gorleston

Poppy Appeal raises £34,600

The Great Yarmouth branch of the Royal British Legion would like to thank everyone who contributed to the poppy appeal this year, for the collectors and members and also the public who volunteered to assist us. Also, that Great Yarmouth Borough Council was able to find us accommodation on Yarmouth market at short notice was greatly appreciated. This is a very important time of the year for us to raise funds for ex-service personnel past and present. We would also like to thank the residents of this borough for their continued support. We understand at this time that it is necessary for some families to rely on food banks to assist them, but nevertheless people wore a poppy. To all the supermarkets, shops and offices in Great Yarmouth we would like to thank them for their unfailing support and we are proud that so far this year we have raised £34,681.86.Obviously the poppy appeal continues all year round and we will from time to time keep the residents informed of our income. Nationally the British Legion spends £1.5m per week on welfare to all ex-service personnel. On behalf of our branch I would like to say a very big thank you.

P H WILLIAMS

Chairman, Great Yarmouth RBL

Democracy is alive and well here

I would like to express my thanks, on behalf of the environment committee at Great Yarmouth Borough Council, to all of those who took part in the recent consultation over the Dog Control Public Space Protection Order, and all of those who attended the committee meeting last week. While the vast majority of dog owners are responsible people, who pick up after their dogs and keep them on leads at appropriate times, we still need in place up-to-date rules to promote responsible dog ownership and to help our dedicated environmental rangers continue to challenge effectively that minority of owners who are irresponsible. Our rules were ripe for updating – most dated back to the 1980s – and we have updated them in a planned, holistic, transparent way, involving parish councils, landowners and residents in the conversation, to ensure the new Public Space Protection Order meets the expectations and aspirations of communities today. Nothing was initially set in stone: we simply asked the public for their views on a wide package of ideas, and we were very pleased with the response.

In total, more than 800 people took part in the four-week consultation, proving that democracy is alive and well in the Great Yarmouth borough, and helping the elected members of the environment committee to make their decisions last week. This included a key decision to continue to allow dogs off leads on the North Denes dunes, which was supported by the majority of consultation participants.

This is why we hold consultations: to ensure that interested parties, in particular our residents, continue to be involved, collectively, in the decision-making processes which affect them. In addition to thanking those who took the time and effort to participate, I would also like to thank the council officers who supported the consultation to ensure that people’s views were collected and presented fairly before committee members. The council holds consultations relatively regularly, and I do hope that those who took part in the dog control consultation will continue to participate in local democracy into the future.

Cllr CARL SMITH

Chairman, Environment Committee

Cutting wardens is bad news

Norfolk County Council has asked for views on warden service cutbacks for sheltered accommodation. To cut out wardens will inevitable affect the visits to elderly people. Jackie Tierney, Age Concern service manager, is correct in saying for some elderly people the visit by a warden is their only lifeline. Why must these elderly people who try to maintain their independence get the short straw? Some are too frightened to speak up for fear of losing their home, so I’m saying this for all of them and hope somebody will read this and help them.

Name and Address withheld

Thanks for letter about Matt book

Being the author of The Diary of Matt the Cat! I really must take this opportunity to thank Pat Philpott for his very delightful and complimentary remarks relating to my first novel. Just loved the fact that he gave up watching John Wayne movies for Matt - a real gentleman of taste, who obviously recognises talent when he sees it!

If you want to be amused, intrigued and amazed at the resourcefulness of an abandoned cat who can talk to cats, ducks, birds and yes, squirrels plus humans he trusts, then read his heartwarming, informative and amazing story as he deals with being abandoned and his determination to find a loving home - he has his own site at www.mattthecat.co.uk

VALERIE JORDAN

Email

Proud of council for dog decision

The objections to the recently proposed changes to Dog Control Measures were never just about dog walking; they were about the effects the proposals would have on the businesses and residents of Great Yarmouth, and on the areas affected if responsible dog walkers who take care of them, were driven away.

I was delighted with the results of last week’s meeting to review the proposals, and feel rather proud of our council for having made the right decisions for its residents and businesses. Our council actually took time to consider implications of the proposals on residents, businesses, and the areas themselves.

The rejection of some of the proposals also means Council’s resources will not be further stretched and dog wardens will be able to concentrate on dog fouling problems. Going forward I hope dog owners will be able to work with the council to help combat the problem, and also help encourage responsible dog ownership.

Commonsense prevailed; great news all round for residents, dogowners and dogs, local businesses and Great Yarmouth!!

JULIE YOUNG

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