Readers’ letters from this week’s Journal

How inspiring to see a young person engaging with Dementia awareness.

I have been a mental health activist for the past 16 years and know that it is not always easy to challenge commonly held misconceptions. My mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s last year and recently attended a self management course organised by The Alzheimer’s Society and found it beneficial. So Daisy can be assured her fundraising directly improves the lives of people who experience the condition.

It is not easy for anyone to watch a family member or friend slowly deteriorate with this illness, loosing the skills they once had and failing to remember who you are. So Daisy should be commended for turning what is so often a distressing experience into a passion to help facilitate better awareness and raise funds. Well done, keep it up!

G THOMPSON

Beccles

Biking on the wrong side

Today (Thursday) I was in Beccles and saw two adults on bikes. The male biker had child in a buggy attached at the back of his bike.

These morons were cycling on the one way streets against the traffic. Obviously they knew what they were doing but didn’t care, if they are stupid enough to attempt suicide in this manner leave the child at home. They even rode against the traffic lights at the Public Hall.

I was so incensed I called after them that they were cycling the wrong way down one way streets. They totally ignored me and carried on, if there had been an accident who would have been blamed, as usual the poor motorist. I hope these idiots read this, and take note.

It’s DANGEROUS to play in the traffic especially when you have a child with you.

MRS DOBSON

Email

Food festival was magnificent

My wife and I would like to express our thanks to the organisers for a magnificent food festival on Saturday, perfect weather and great stalls made it a great day out. Special thanks to Paul Parivanni and Malcolm Holmes for manning the information area and taking time to explain the trail and what to look out for in the public hall. It made the trip from Lincolnshire very worthwhile.

KEVIN NORMAN

Email

Health centre will not be back

At the beginning of 2017 we wrote to Dr Stammers, the chair of the Clinical Commissioning Group in Waveney, to express our deep concern about the future of the Beccles Health Centre.

In his reply he said, “Like all other NHS organisations, NHS Great Yarmouth and Waveney Clinic Commissioning Group ... are facing unprecedented financial pressure ... we cannot afford to carry on providing the same services in the same way.”

We believe that the people of Beccles need to be aware of how serious is the crisis in our health care system both locally and nationally.

Since the beginning of 2017 six doctors have left, or are about to leave, Beccles Medical Centre. Some are retiring but some are leaving because they are unhappy with existing conditions of service and delivery in the NHS. It is very unlikely that there are doctors in the system available for recruitment. GPs are now earning significantly less than they did ten years ago and working conditions have deteriorated; general practice is now an unattractive career choice.

The alarming reality is that the loss of even one more clinician will threaten the survival of Beccles Medical Centre.

The NHS needs substantially more funding and it would be dishonest and nonsensical to argue that additional funding can be obtained by more efficiency savings or by yet another round of restructuring within the system.

We believe that politicians of all parties should have the courage and integrity to tell the electorate that the only way that a decent health service can be delivered is by increasing the tax support for the NHS. This policy should not be regarded as the doctrine of one particular political party; for this and future generations it is the only moral, humane and intelligent course of action.

This may not be a popular message but we all need to face a deeply unpleasant reality; once a resource like Beccles Health Centre or the National Health Service is gone, it will never be recovered.

PHILIP AND PENNY FILER

Email

No rights over RBL Social Club

In reply to the RBL branch chairman’s letter; in September 1980 the RBL Social Club leased its premises from Suffolk County Council, under a five-year agreement. RBL members could not ‘own’ them during the period 1978-83. That separate committees ran the branch and club cannot be a claim for ‘ownership’ of leased premises.

Mr Devereux wrote that the ‘idea’ for a Social Club was, ‘generated by Beccles branch RBL members in 1978.’ The Club Committee do not disagree with this - the Club was founded by RBL members and RBL membership is required for Club membership. However, the Club Committee refute his belief that the Club became ‘the property of the Beccles RBL members,’ because they had the ‘idea’ for forming the Club. An ‘idea’ cannot form a legal claim to the Club premises.

In 1985, RBL Branch officers asked RBL National to support the purchase of the premises from SCC. They refused and wanted nothing to do with the idea. These members then acted to purchase the Club under its own title and Committee management, thanks to the late Lord Prior who helped to find a mortgage with Lloyds bank.

RBL National/Branch were not involved and the Social Club was a separate entity, owned outright by the RBL Social Club (Beccles) Ltd under Title Absolute.

On the Deed of Release and Mortgage document, appear these words: ‘in pursuance of a resolution of the Committee of the Royal British Legion Social Club (Beccles) Ltd.’, proving that the RBL Branch has no ownership or rights over the Social Club premises, as RBL National admits.

We hope this ends all speculation about Club ‘ownership’.

THE COMMITTEE

RBL Social Club (Beccles) Ltd

Thanks for support for street fayre

The committee for the Loddon Street Fayre would like to say a huge thanks to everyone involved in making the event such a success.

From Norfolk County Council Highways department, South Norfolk Council Market Towns Initiative, Loddon Parish Council for their assistance and from local businesses as well

All the schools, the surgery and vet kindly lent us their car parks, and businesses lent equipment for the day and helped with advertising and hanging bunting.

There were many people quietly getting on behind the scenes to enable the day to happen.

With local shops open, cafés, pubs and takeaways as well as stalls full of crafts, gifts, plants and food and more, there was a something for everyone. Loddon and Chedgrave are a hidden gem on the Norfolk Broads and many people were visiting for the first time on Sunday and wanted to come back.

As part of the Waveney Valley towns along with Beccles, Bungay, Harleston, Diss, Eye and Halesworth we are delighted to offer a different day out for both locals in the area and holiday makers in the region.

We were so lucky with the weather all day and the feedback has been really positive with people asking us to run it again next year.

It’s a great place to live in and a great place to visit.

CAROLINE BOWN

Chairman

Loddon District Business Association

We need speeding action here

Reading with pleasure in last week’s Journal that again hundreds of motorists have been caught speeding during a week-long enforcement campaign in Suffolk in April.

Wonderful, but when will it be our turn in Beccles, in Northgate Bridge Street and Ravensmere where speed breakers in thousands should be caught every day.

April has gone, May nearly gone, June maybe?

Not enough police to enforce the road laws. Why not? It’s ludicrous.

On page 15, the police managed with the local safer neighbourhood team to stop and seized three quad bikes and caught their riders who were potentially causing danger to other road users. Four riders. Well done, but what a drop in the ocean.

JOY TOPLING

Ravensmere,

Beccles