Store would have created new jobs

WE see the borough council's development committee has turned down Asda's second attempt to extend its store. Well, what world do they live in? It would have brought in 40 new jobs and seen £100,000 spent on improving the eyesore Vauxhall Bridge area, something which gets worse every year.

Meantime, the council wastes money on the seafront and St George's Park, which many locals are not interested in. And town centre manager Jonathan Newman does not talk sense. One of the reasons there is a drop of seven per cent in footfall is there is nowhere to park, and the council keeps putting up car charges forcing people to shop out of town where it's free.

Well done, Councillor Mick Castle. We need many more like him to speak for outer town shoppers.

Many councillors on the development committee, and their partners, do shop out of town. I saw one in Asda last week. As for another councillor saying there would be job losses in the town centre if the plan was approved, yes there might be, but put this down to higher rents and above all car parking and parking charges in town.

R MUNTON

Alderson Close

Great Yarmouth

WITH the Marina Centre site having been advertised for redevelopment and various proposals received, there is one important question Great Yarmouth Borough Council leader Barry Coleman is requested to answer please: Based on the council's forward planning, what period of time will elapse between starting the demolition of the Marina Centre and the completion of the building of a new public indoor swimming pool:

a)If the new pool is to be part of the Golden Mile Regeneration?

b)If the new pool is to be built on an alternative site within the town?

It is already known it will be at least two years before any demolition will start, but this information is not sufficient. The young, the old, and the disabled among others, are entitled to know what future is being planned for them regarding this facility which enhances their health, safety, and quality of life.

With the local council elections due, it is also requested please that the leader of Labour's borough councillors provides information regarding their plans and strategy regarding the future of the Marina Centre, regeneration, and the siting of the new large casino. The position of Labour councillors regarding all these issues needs to be fully understood by the electorate.

TONY ARCHER

Caister

I AGREE with Mr Andrews' letter (Mercury, March 28) regarding the mini roundabouts in Caister, both at Tan Lane and West Road.

I have had numerous telephone calls about both and the question is “have these been sited correctly?”

With regard to the one at Tan Lane, it is physically impossible for any car to turn right into Tan Lane without traversing the bump. In some cases I have witnessed vehicles ignoring the roundabout altogether and passing on the wrong side.

Mini roundabouts are only there for guidance of the traffic, and if a vehicle cannot circumnavigate it, it is allowed to traverse it. The same is true for the one at West Road. The impression given is to maintain the flow of north-south traffic, but there is the potential danger for traffic turning both into and out of West Road and I have no doubt we will have a spate of minor accidents at both these points in the future.

I did express my doubts to the Highways Department on March 17, who stated that my concerns would be investigated and addressed. That was the last I heard and within a few days the new road markings were applied without any consultation with Caister Parish Council.

I will also reiterate the final point of Mr Andrew's letter, about the drop down kerb in front of the Council Hall which floods every time it rains and thus prevents the aged and disabled from using this crossing point. Some ten metres away in Tan Lane is a drain. Perhaps if the Highways Department used an old fashioned piece of technology called a “gutter” this problem could be alleviated and the water drained away.

All in all, this is reminiscent of the recent Terminal 5 disaster at Heathrow. All the thousands of pounds spent, the disruption to the village and to people's livelihood the Highways Department still cannot get it right.

A G OVERILL

Chairman

Caister Parish Council

I TAKE exception to Rachel Moore's dig at the British National Party. She wrote (Mercury, March 28) “Patriotism is a dirty word, read with horror, like a rally from the loony fringes - recruitment for the UK Independence Party or, worse still, the British National Party.” After years of politically correct brainwashing by the media in their quest to inflict multiculturalism upon an unwilling public, it's little wonder the public are scared to be patriotic or fly the flag. A campaign by the media and the establishment parties to stereotype the British National Party as undesirable has been very successful, and one wonders why so many establishment figures are scared of patriotism; what do they have to fear from this most natural of feelings?

The British National Party picked up and cherished the Union flag after most had cast it off in fear; they should be thanked for this, not vilified.

FRED JONES

St Leonards Road

Leicester

TWO for one special offer at the Crem?

I do not have any particular political affiliation, however I was intrigued when the Conservative “In touch” leaflet landed on my doormat. Under the heading “Focus on going greener,” I totally agreed with “the effects of global warming are of grave concern.”

It did, however raise my eyebrows a bit to read: “We will continue to lower gas usage at the crematorium!” Surely to do this is a half baked idea, unless they are proposing a special two for one deal.

LESTER BULLEN

The Mews

Gorleston

I WOULD like to thank Derek Brown for his response to my letter re the proposed hybrid DNA experiments. Debate can be productive. He says it is rather silly to base a moral stand on myths written 2,000 years age by a Middle Eastern tribe.

It is interesting that people are happy to place their faith in the modern day myth of Evolution (from simple chemicals to man) which has a much less rational basis. It is common experience that complex information structures cannot arise by accident. Look at a computer database for example.

If we take the trouble to study the incredible design behind the biological mechanisms that sustain “life” we appreciate the impossibility of repeated small changes occurring simultaneously in thousands of complex molecules working co-operatively to result in a perfectly functioning “higher” organism.

The multiplied probabilities are impossibly improbable. Mr Brown may be grateful for example to a change occurring in the side arm of the sixth amino acid in the beta sub-unit of a haemogloblin molecule two million years ago which may have rendered the benefactor slightly less susceptible to malarial infection. But as it leads to sickle cell tendencies in the homozygous form it can have serious drawbacks.

However a well substantiated event which revolutionised the lives of those who witnessed it 2,000 years ago is dismissed. Apart from the fact that the events leading up to it were amazingly prophesised up to 2,000 years before they took place.

You may be interested that events today are also clearly prophesised namely the political situation in Israel and the return of thousands of Jews to their historical homeland. This being the case it is more than silly to ignore the laws and prohibitions given to us by the creator.

PETER GRAY-READ

Fulmar Close

Bradwell

WHY do dog owners pick up their dog poo in colourful bags, tie a knot in it then leave it on the pavement? This is disgusting and dangerous. Do they really expect the poor litter picker to have to clean up a festering dog poo bag just because the owner is too lazy to take it home with them or “find a bin to put it in!” Also when it rains they get into the drains and eventually blocks up the pumps - the result is floods. Please dog owners, thank you for cleaning up, but do it properly. Find a bin to put it in!

LYN BYFORD

Exmouth Road,

Great Yarmouth

THE letters in last week's issue made depressing reading. Firstly there was the demolition of the shelter on North Drive because of it being a magnet for vandals. Surely the best course of action would have been to arrest the lawbreakers.

Then there was the disgraceful turnaround at Winterton because the council was frightened of having to fund a successful appeal by the builder. On the other hand they are quite happy to refuse Asda's application for expansion and I wouldn't want to have to pay the costs when Asda appeals and wins, because the council have already shot themselves in the foot by allowing Tesco's massive expansion.

Finally, there were no gritter lorries in action over the Easter period in Great Yarmouth. This could have been due to the fact that because the roads were so bad, the man who drives the gritter couldn't get to work!

PAULINE LYNCH

Mill Lane

Bradwell

I WRITE with reference to the article on Rachel Moore's page last week entitled “Teaching's not so bad.” I am a teacher in a large Norfolk high school and I was angered by her views of the teaching profession.

Teachers are “feeling the pinch” in just the same way as everyone else. In today's economy with prices rising almost daily, all we want is for our salaries to rise with the rate of inflation, as currently we are being left worse off than in previous years. Is this really too much to ask?

I suggest if Rachel wants to write about a profession she clearly knows nothing about, she gets her facts straight first.

She describes teachers' days as getting shorter and shorter. Does she really think we only work from 9 until 3? Lessons may finish at around 3 o'clock but that is not the end of the teacher's day.

Nowadays, there are so many extra curricular activities being run after school, such as sports clubs, revision sessions or coursework help and even extra GCSEs that there is just not time for during the main school day. Added to this, there are detentions to run, and department or staff meetings. This is all before we even think about planning any lessons. Gone are the days when planning consisted of which page out of the text book the pupils will be working from.

Pupils will no longer accept dull and uninteresting lessons, so lessons take time to plan and prepare. Yes, we do get some planning time during the day, but it is not enough especially as some of this is taken to cover for absent colleagues. We then have books and coursework to mark and reports to write. These are often done at home in the evenings or even during the holidays.

Don't get me wrong, I love my job and the challenges it offers. However, we do work extremely hard and we do not deserve to be worse off financially.

MRS KERRY DUNTON

Address withheld

HAVING never attended a live show at the Gorleston Pavilion we went along to see the Stage Door Youth Theatre production of A Slice of Saturday Night and it was truly a delight.

How proud Sheila Pascall must be of this fantastic group of teenage boys and girl who sang their hearts out, acted and danced with perfection and were extremely professional, not forgetting Chris Darnell from the older generation.

The Lazy Poker Blues Band provided the music throughout and they also performed with professionalism, charisma and showed marvellous musical talent. We are now fans of this youth theatre and the band, and will certainly be attending their next production in November of Beauty and the Beast.

Go and see these young people yourselves and you will not be disappointed!

SANDRA SKIPPER

Humberstone Road

Gorleston

ONCE upon a time Great Yarmouth wasn't a bad place to drive. Now it is like a war zone. Before you set off you have to work out what roads not to go on; roadworks are everywhere. The seafront is a mess, and that has been going on for ages.

People get nice cars yet cannot get parked. Take Cobbs Place, I live here, I get a permit and yet I cannot leave my car here, I have to drive miles to park. There is a big bit of land on Cobbs Place which used to be garages but it is fenced off. It would be better used for a car park but I expect it will remain empty. There is no point in having a car in Great Yarmouth.

Mrs T WHITMORE

Cobbs Place

Great Yarmouth

I AGREE with Mr E Barkhuizen (Bible clash with church structure, Mercury March 21). In fact it is a very difficult to find any similarity between the churches of Christiandom and true Christianity.

As Micah 3:11 states, “her own priests mistrust for a price”. Whereas in the original Christian congregation there we no paid priests, in fact the Apostle Paul made tents for a living. A clergyman who was president of the Congregational union of England and Wales said to me: “You can't believe all Christ said, he was only a stage in the evolution of man.”

And when I joined the Army, the Army chaplain told us it was our duty to kill Germans and the more we killed the better Christians we would be. The Germans were told the same thing by their priests about the British.

P E KNIGHT,

Wherry Way,

Great Yarmouth

I AM pleased to inform all members of the Amicus/Unite the Union that our local candidate Paul Brewster was successful in winning the London/Eastern region seat on the National Executive Council in the recent elections. Paul sends a big thank-you to the branch and to all members for their support and votes. We know that Paul will do a very good job in representing the interests of our members in his new position and wish him the very best from the Great Yarmouth branch.

BARRY STEWART

Branch Secretary

I AM writing to you about the No 600 bus service. It goes to Gapton Hall industrial estate and is run by Swift. As you would imagine it serves the people who work on the estate, so why have they changed the times? From April 7, the bus will now pick up at 4.23pm and 5.23pm, very helpful for people who leave off work at 4.30pm and 5.30pm. I don't quite understand the logic of this at all. The government wants us to use public transport, but of course, not if you live in Great Yarmouth and work on an industrial estate. I will now have to walk home every night as will many other people; not a good prospect in the winter. Not everyone owns or drives a car. Thank you Swift.

GILLIAN PALMER

Nottingham Way

Great Yarmouth

HERMAN First and Middle schools are amalgamating in September 2008, and becoming a primary school.

Herman First School is holding a reunion on Friday, June 27 at 7.30pm in the Celebration Suite at the Burrage Centre, James Paget Hospital, Gorleston. This event is open to all ex-pupils, teachers and friends of the school.

Were you a pupil of Herman First School? Or were you at Herman Infants? If so, here's your chance to meet up with friends and colleagues or anyone else associated with the school. Tickets, priced £10 per head, include a buffet supper and will be on sale at the school office. Call 01493 661247 or email office@hermanfirst.norfolk.sch.uk for further details. This event is strictly 18 years old and over.

We look forward to seeing you there.

STAFF AND GOVERNORS

Herman First School

I FELT I had to say a few words to Emma Woolnough as I do know what she is experiencing. I had the same experience 60 years ago this August. I dealt with the situation by deciding that apart from the obvious things that had to be done like getting a leg, I would as far as possible ignore the fact I only had one leg. So I did the things I wanted to: climbing, walking, swimming, cycling, ice skating, judo, and akido. I was a civil defence ambulance driver which involved rescuing people from all sorts of dangerous places. I never disclosed my handicap when applying for jobs and spent over 30 years as a factory manager which involved walking around most of the day. At one job I had the company did not find out for two months.

The other piece of advice I would give is when you go to have a leg made ask questions about what is available. There are advances made all the time in the manufacture of artificial limbs but the information is not always publicised so some good ideas which may help can be overlooked. You do however, have to keep a look out for the bipedes as they can get into a lot of trouble with two legs and it is up to us monopedes to take care of them!

DEREK BROWN

Nelson Road South

Great Yarmouth

WELL, from last week's Mercury report as to the council having to respond to disease and pests inflicting the borough's roadside trees along Lawn Avenue, it just goes to show the wide variety of problems we need to cope with to keep our natural resources for the whole community. Having also seen the large scars on the same grass verges caused by the resilient pest, blow-the-neighbours-my-car-is-precious. I would suggest existing enforcement rather than paraquat would have a satisfactory outcome, but then again I could be wrong.

STEVE TAYLOR

Clarence Road

Great Yarmouth

RACHEL Moore's article on teachers (Mercury, March 28). Again she writes about a subject she knows little or nothing about. Her perception of teaching is completely different from that of my daughter's. Her week in school is not 9 to 4 and leaving with the children as portrayed in TV's Waterloo Road. In her area of education her day starts at 8am and sometimes does not finish until 6pm. In between there is extra planning outside the allotted time, preparation for lessons, trying to control a class of 27 seven to eight year olds some of whom can be rude disruptive and inattentive.

Then there are staff meetings, assemblies to organise, play rehearsals, afternoon parent-teacher meetings, oh and a quick lunch, usually taken standing up. Her own personal time is also taken up on some evenings marking work, researching future lessons and end of term reports, not short remarks filling one page but sheets of comments on each child's progress.

As for the long summer holiday some of that is taken closing down one school year's work and starting another. My daughter is a dedicated teacher and loves the job but is a bit envious of those who are able to spend their working week in the comfort of their own home. She does not belong to the teachers union in the news.

IRIS MARTIN

Hopton