Les Lawrence write to the Editor

Dear Editor,

We have all seen the terrible scenes recently on our TV screens; cars and property set on fire and shops looted. And you have to ask yourself just why does this happen?

For some reason, which many will find it difficult to understand, when I see this carnage on our streets, my mind comes back to our own locality. Of course, thank goodness, we will never see our village streets subject to the same violence as in some of our Cities, but we should be debating why this is happening. And that is the point I wish to make; this question of debate. In many of my contributions to the Village Pump I like to think that, what some people might call my strange sense of humour, comes to the fore, but there is nothing I enjoy more than a very serious debate, especially on local issues. The question arises, are there local issues worthy of debate? And I think there are many.

One of my disappointments with our local newsletters is this lack of debate on issues that affect all of us who live in this area. But to debate a subject you have to proffer an opinion and what can be wrong with doing just that? Yet I get the impression that this is frowned upon.

We don’t live in a prefect world, even in this part of the world, and thank goodness I shall never know what it is like to live in some of these inner city estates like some people have to. So people such as myself have much to be thankful for, but that doesn’t mean we have nothing to debate in our part of the world and where better to do just this than in our local newsletters.

I was rather saddened to read in the Village Pump that the Blue Bell pub in Stoke Ferry was closing. Let us hope someone takes it over. Either way, it won’t affect me, but we can’t carry on losing our village amenities as if it is of no interest to any of us.

Where are our villages today and what of their future? Something worthy of debate? Well I would have thought so. So come on Pump readers, put your two pennyworth in!

Les Lawrence Methwold.