A letter from Les to the Editor

Les provides the background to his criticism of Pump contents

Dear Editor,

I hope you will allow me to return to my criticism of the content of our Village Pump and if so I want to further explain, 'where I am coming from'. Not long ago I wrote an article in which I made reference to what I called the ordinary run of the mill young people in this area, in other words people like me when I was their age. I wasn't, as I said, talking about the minority, those who may well go on to further education but the vast majority who will leave school and then find work of a manual nature, again people like me. The reason why I find this group of young people of interest is because they are our future; nearly all were born in this area and will still be living here in 50 years time.

Whether we like it or not you will not find hardly any of this group taking an interest in local politics, you won't find them at Church or Chapel this Sunday, and neither will you find many of them buying the Village Pump. This is the harsh reality, unless of course I have got all of this horrible wrong and I don't think I have.

I was talking recently to two young ladies, both 18 years of age, one was pregnant. Making this comment may I ask when was the last time teenage pregnancies was last talked about in our Village Pump? In fact when did you last see the word SEX appear in our Village Pump? To me the answer is clear; the very word SEX sits uncomfortably on the mantelpiece of our Village Pump. Which tells me one thing that there is this huge gap between our Village Pump and these young people I keep on about, which is the whole point of what I'm trying to say. Let me give another example of what I am trying to say. Over the past few months I have made numerous comments about Chloe Smith a young Lady with connections with our part of the world who's name has appeared in many of our national newspapers as a result of what she has achieved already in her young life, and yet her considerably achievements would never have been mentioned in our Village Pump had it not been for the likes of myself and you Mr. Editor, forcing me to conclude that young people and our Village Pump have little in common.

I recently wrote an article which I called, 'Time for Debate' I think that time is now. But I fear it will be more of the same.

Methwold

Les Lawrence