Birdscarers are blighting lives

A glorious Bank Holiday weekend. Beautiful weather, barbecues, games in the garden and an unbearable tiredness from being woken up at 5.20am by bird scarers in the neighbouring fields in Ormesby St Margaret.

Then as darkness draws nearer, my children are then woken up again at 9pm! The problem just gets worse year after year. How can anyone even think these are acceptable hours of the day to start these things going?

To sound a car horn before 7am is illegal and as it stands, these guns go on throughout the day shooting four times in succession every 10-15 minutes. Do they work? I doubt it, otherwise the farmer wouldn’t be shooting them so frequently. There have been so many complaints nationwide regarding these gas gun bird scarers, they are considered to be a blight in most communities.

Yes, I understand farmers want to protect their livelihoods, but why anger the very communities who support them? Defra and the NFU have issued guidelines for the considerate use of these machines but it still seems to fall on deaf ears. Well, talking of ears, I shall put in my uncomfortable earplugs once again to try and mask yet more disturbed dawns and dusks listening to this awful noise.

Ms H FORD

Ormesby St Margaret

What threat did White Lady pose?

I totally agree on the Mercury’s opinion (not a lone opinion neither) on the hastened and total erasure of the White Lady, Letters pages, May 30. It’s beyond belief that such artwork can be removed whilst leaving behind offensive graffiti. Many council tenants may wish they could respond as promptly to other repairs?

Considering the money they’ve spent on St George’s Centre shouldn’t they be promoting such art and culture. What possible threat or harm did it pose? Many residents actually liked it, then on the flipside we’ve got far worse graffiti spread all around Great Yarmouth and Gorleston.

So have they now set a precedent in cleaning all graffiti from public areas, I don’t think so!

I hope this hasn’t discouraged EMO for pursuing his/her gift of art and expression and hope that some entrepreneur will offer him/her some space to promote his/her work? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have it repeated on a Gorleston site but then there would probably be an issue over planning?

Even Norwich had its elephants and gorillas, what promotions have we got that cater for us locals? The big TV screens were a total waste of ratepayers money and buried just as quick as the White Lady was erased!

KEN EKE

email

Lady gone but other tags left?

I note the beautiful image of the Girl With Candle has been removed, but the unsightly, depressing, tags and other rubbish on the adjacent brick wall have been ignored. What sort of service is this that the borough council are receiving from their contractor? A very poor one, I would say, and ultimately being paid for by the local taxpayers.

So the council considers it okay to remove pleasing, uplifting images, whilst leaving the degenerate images. This is nothing but an insult, the council is treating the public like dirt. I hope they are obliged to admit to this lack of respect, apologise, and clean this bus shelter properly - and promptly.

C MERRY

email

Cllr’s comments disgraceful

I’d like to congratulate Great Yarmouth North Against Development for their success in fighting the plans for 12 affordable homes. It’s a shame it had to go this far and local people’s views were initially ignored.

I particularly find Mick Castle’s comments disgraceful. To basically say these residents have kicked people on the waiting list in the teeth, is out of order and unjust. It is his party that has sat by and not built any homes.

If you read page five of the Mercury (May 23) you will notice information on the new development in Bradwell. Only 10pc of the first 150 homes will be affordable! Most councils state developments should be 25pc; in North Norfolk it’s 40pc. So it is this council kicking people on the waiting list, not local residents!

The town needs large numbers of affordable housing, not large developments to be sold off. The council seems determined to tickle the problem with piecemeal development and here and there building. The former Northgate Street social club and its land is having 79 homes built on it, why didn’t the council do it?

Congratulations to UKIP on their election victory in Great Yarmouth. It makes a change to see different faces and names in the paper and on the ballot papers. The local Labour and Conservative groups needed an alternative.

Although only ten seats for now, this is a reminder to other parties to smarten up their act, to stop the rot and to replace the “same olds” with fresh blood and people with optimism and new ideas.

To the UKIP councillors, I look forward to seeing how you go on from now and only hope you remain individual. I hope you look to the positives this town has and not just moan about cutbacks and under funding!

ANDREW GRANT

Fairway,

Caister on sea

Emo, come paint our bus shelter

I support the views of your correspondents in last Friday’s edition regarding the removal of the artwork in the bus shelter at Magdalen Way. Whilst being done without consent, and therefore technically being in the same class as any other graffiti, it was an extremely high quality piece of work and worthy of retaining.

All too often our bus shelters are adorned by obscene and mindless scribblings and such a piece of art was a welcome change and I would support any initiative by the council to contact the artist and commission him to decorate more of our shelters.

He would certainly be welcome to paint the one at Ormesby which is constantly being vandalised by moronic inscriptions.

JIM SHRIMPLIN

Borough and Parish Councillor, Great Ormesby

Mystery of the plastic pinafores

I walk my dogs down Wick Lane in Rollesby over the last few weeks a person has been disposing of their white plastic pinafores and gloves down the lane. On my way to Martham I also noticed there were traces of similar pinafores and gloves along there too.

Would this person please put them in the appropriate place. Environmental health has been informed and fines for this type of litter would be quite high.

Mrs SUE DAVIDSON,

Rollesby

Council has got priorities wrong

I am amazed at the amount of publicity that has now come forward about the graffiti in the bus shelter on Magdalen Way in Gorleston. I say amazed in the fact that I think for once the borough council have got their priorites wrong on various counts.

How can they justify painting over the work or art (not very well I hasten to add) and yet leave the offensive rubbish on other walls that has been there for a great deal of time? How much money and man hours has it cost us council tax payers who by a majority wanted it left where it was?

Where have they listened to the community that they say they want to work and be part of?

Where are those in power working for us, the voters, speaking up for us? Are they just doing ‘jobsworths’ rather than looking at what has been done and making allowances?

I feel with the local community now being run roughshod over what would make the area a better place to live in is working with the local community in allowing what was making a far better socially acceptable piece of artwork rather than abusive, offensive and darn right rude paint daubings.

Yes, to make an act of vandalism on any person property is not what would we want but I am sure with taking the whole holistic view on what had been adorned in the shelter they could have allowed this to be left. It would not have set a precedent as I think all sensible residents would have taken note of what, where and when anything was happening in their area.

In conclusion if York Minister can have a special attraction of graffiti art in the nave then I think we on the Magdalen estate could have our own “Banksy” in our bus shelter.

PATRICK THOMPSON

email

Was elections result a tremor?

The Mercury’s coverage of the elections is a fine piece of reporting, highlighting the lows and highs. Reading the quotes from the various winners and losers in my view does not really sum up the true reason for the change in residents voting patterns.

Is it a tremor as Cllr Wainwright believes? Or is it a wave of discontent brought on by party failure in the Outer Harbour that since before the year 2000 has been acclaimed as the borough’s saviour, and we are still waiting.

Reading the quotes of ex Cllr Walker to me seems just a matter of sour grapes, she blames the national leaders.

Yes, Farage is a guy to have a pint with and a chat, perhaps that has been missing within our corridors of power! It is more than clean streets and bins, it is listening to what is the forefront of residents interests.

UKIP are aware of the need for low cost housing, decent schools, more doctors and most of all jobs, instead of blighting those many companies on the South Denes as Labour did, or giving away our river port and being paid a bonus for abysmal failure as the Conservatives did.

Perhaps UKIP councillors will learn from what I consider to be these errors of judgment and we will reap the job rewards from the £20m that was fritted away.

I say less grumbles about losing one’s seat and dwell on why these seats were lost.

JOHN L COOPER

Burnt Lane,

Gorleston

Traffic impact of new development

After watching the bulldozers churning up the ground in front of Tesco, in order to accommodate yet more out of town outlets, I wondered if anyone has given any thought as to the impact that more cars will have on the already inadequate traffic arrangements?

The small roundabout was installed for the benefit of Tesco, while the larger one is neither one thing or the other.

The corner should have been taken back and a larger roundabout installed before further development was allowed. Also where will the traffic enter and leave the new premises?

I don’t know about cups of highly-priced coffee, but I should think that after having to negotiate what is already a white knuckle junction, one would need a stiff drink!

PAULINE LYNCH

email

Anyone could see: not graffiti!

I can’t believe they removed the piece of beautiful art from the Gorleston bus shelter, whoever did this should be ashamed of themselves.

This action sends out a message yet again of how easily things of beauty or historical value in this town are just wiped away without thought. Anyone can see it was not graffiti. Why didn’t the council ask if people wanted it to stay, and given them the choice

JULIE STAFF

email

Stop waiting on the crossings

I am writing complaining about all the buses, coaches and taxis that wait in traffic on the crossing at the traffic lights up the High Street, Gorleston, from the YMCA shop to the toilets. It is not just illegal to stop on a crossing it is also impossible to cross the road safely with a vehicle blocking the path.

It is very frustrating when you want to cross and some thoughtless wonder has parked on the crossing. This happened to me three times in a row on Friday afternoon.

Please motorists, be more caring and thoughtful and do not stop on the traffic crossings, stop before or after, and not on the crossing, thank you.

COLIN THOMPSON

email

Majority decided on visit go-ahead

I write in response to David Bale’s article in the Mercury entitled “Schools will keep Kenyan date despite danger alert”, I would like you to publish my response; there is a significant error in the article which should be corrected.

I did not at any stage say we had changed our itinerary “to avoid going near the Kenyan/Somali border”. We have been organising these visits for the last eight years for Norfolk High schools and we have never been anywhere near the Somali border; it has never featured on our itinerary. I did say we would not be carrying out our normal charitable work in three primary schools in Nairobi - sadly - because they are in low income areas.

Our main charitable project this year is based in an orphanage in Nakuru and we shall be spending most of our time in Nakuru.

To clarify our position re: Norfolk County Council, I and the educational visits co-ordinators in the academies are guided in every point and detail by Graham Lodge, advisor for outdoor learning at the county council.

His advice and guidance over the years have been invaluable; he is the best authority on off-site visits. Academy principals and I would not ignore his informed guidance.

Families have been given all available information at this time, and the large majority have decided to go ahead with the visit. Young people and their families have worked extremely hard raising funds for the visit and collecting charitable goods to take out to Kenya.

They have worked tirelessly and successfully, and there is plenty more to do. Our students will be preparing games, stories and songs for their work in the orphanage and a primary school in Nakuru.

They will also be participating in two leadership days with outstanding Kenyan secondary schools. In addition to this preparation, most of them are taking important examinations currently.

They have more than enough to do and do not need the increased worry and anxiety that a newspaper article of this style can cause.

CHERRY CROWLEY

email

Covering ‘graffiti’ was a tragedy

What a tragedy that a piece of beautiful ‘graffiti’ in a Gorleston bus shelter has been painted over, never more to be seen by appreciative viewers, while many of the offensive images around the town have been left on public view.

VALERIE HOWKINS

David Howkins Memorial Charity Museum,

Great Yarmouth

Please clean the market canopy

As a regular customer to a tea stall in Yarmouth Market Place I was amazed to look up and see how dirty the canopy covering the permanent market was. The main blue steel uprights have been cleaned to head height and that’s it. It needs a good blast with a pressure washer as well as a good scrub. After all, it is a food hall.

D SKIPPER

The Street,

Lound

Thanks for your votes in election

I would like to thank all local residents of Caister south for voting and supporting me in the local elections on May 22, and also to all who voted Green in Euro election.

HARRY WEBB

Caister South candidate

I would like to give my thanks to all local residents of East Fleggburgh for voting for me on May 22. I was very happy with what I achieved and look forward to 2015.

JOHN MALLETT,

East Fleggburgh

I would like to thank everyone in the Gorleston ward that took the time to vote and a big thank you to those that voted for me.

Cllr KAY GREY

Gorleston ward

Did Christ then, die for nothing?

So Mr Gervais claims if Jesus died for my sins, and he (Mr Gervais), does not sin, then did Christ die for nothing? This is virtually impossible, Mr Gervais, as all of us are born into sin, from the moment we are born, even though in the first few years, we are innocent of any wrong-doing due to our very young age. You cannot teach a child to sin. It comes naturally.

As a Christian, Mr Gervais, I am not arrogant enough to know all the answers that everyday folk raise questions over, such as “if God is so loving, why does He allow so much suffering in the world”, or “why does God allow evil to flourish,and innocent people to kop it, and bad people to get away with it?”

All I know is that my faith is precious to me and God loves me as He loves everyone, and need not fear death,”for it has lost its sting”, as it says in God’s Word.

Where is there hope in atheism,Mr Gervais?

There is no hope for it is dead and lifeless. This the difference between having a life giving faith, through Jesus Christ, and hopelessness with unbelief.

It is cold and mocking and one thing I agree with our dear friend, Mr Barkuizen on, is that “we will all have to stand before God, one day, and proclaim Him as King of Kings, and Lord of Lords”.

JOHN HUGGINS,

Turin Way,

Hopton on Sea

Hoping the Lady will reappear

I opposed the removal of the “Lady” as reported in the Mercury and do so again. The present generation are overwhelmed with thousands of empire builders in the EU and we hang on to their every word costing us billions, whilst a large part of the EU, especially France, does not.

We have human rights which up until now, forbids a fireman to go into two foot of water to rescue someone without waiting for a “specialist” to come from afar, murderers from overseas cannot be returned to their country, they are entitled to normal family life here.

We have a tax system which runs into hundreds (or is it thousands) of pages and which is far too complicated for many to understand and which leads to all sorts of fraud.

All these things right down to our “Lady” have one thing in common: a complete lack of common sense and the knowledge it does no harm to break the rules now and again when warranted. I am sure many locals will be hoping the Lady reappears in some other dark, uninviting place.

DEREK COOK

Middlestone Close

Gorleston

Leading a holy life: See Acts

At the end of her letter Ms Kelsey says she is a Christian. So she was sorry for her sins, was baptised in water, and later received the Holy Spirit (and spoke in tongues)? Plus she leads a holy life so her name will stay in God’s book of life? See Acts 2:4, 38; 8:12-18; Revelation 3:4-5.

E BARKHUIZEN

Albemarle Road

Gorleston