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King's Lynn Golden Fish Bar, slavery, RMT rail strike, 'broken Britain' and gas fracking in Lynn News letters




SLAVERY

Apology is misguided

Members of our Royal Family, and politicians, have expressed sadness about the role of our country in slavery, and quite rightly so. But I would point out that many other countries, including some African ones at source, were also involved in that vile trade.

The Prince of Wales sits by the Imperial State Crown during the State Opening of Parliament in the House of Lords, London (Ben Stansall).
The Prince of Wales sits by the Imperial State Crown during the State Opening of Parliament in the House of Lords, London (Ben Stansall).

There is a huge difference between feeling sadness and apologising, which would be wrong. How can we apologise for historical events of hundreds of years ago? And where do we draw the line – the slave trade of the 17th-19th centuries? North African slave raids on Europe of the same era and a bit earlier? Should France apologise for the Norman Harrying of the North in the 1080s? Scandinavia for Viking slavers? And what about Italy apologising for Roman slavers? Sorry, but no, it doesn’t make sense.

It is right that Prince Charles, among others, calls for schoolchildren to be taught about the North Atlantic slave trade, but please, let us ensure it is not one-sided. Let us point out that, as I said above, the ultimate source of many of these slaves was North African slavers; let us point out that many other countries involved had far worse records than ours did. Let us please emphasise the work of William Wilberforce and others in making this country the prime mover in the abolition of slavery.

And let us not forget that many of those involved in the trade also did tremendous work in fields such as education, from which many students from countries which were victims of slavery now benefit. And please, let us also highlight those countries which still perpetuate slavery, and the foreign gangs who do so in this country.

Yes, let us teach about the evils of the past so that they can hopefully be avoided in the future, but please, don’t let us use this teaching merely as a stick to beat down our country.

Pete Widdows,

Heacham

CHIP SHOP

So sorry to see them retire

The owners (Mr and Mrs Lai) of the Golden Fish Bar in Centre Point, Lynn, will be retiring in a few weeks' time.

When I first moved to the area and was getting our house ready to move into, I’d pop at lunchtimes as we didn’t have any gas or electric.

They were always so friendly and upbeat. Now, some 30-plus years later we’re still regulars.

It’s sad to hear they’re retiring, they’ve been an integral part of the local community for so long, we’ll miss them.

Here’s wishing them both a long and happy retirement!

Steve and Sarai Britton,

Lynn

RMT pickets. Picture: Graham Smith
RMT pickets. Picture: Graham Smith

RAIL STRIKE

Wrong Mr Wild, wrong

I would like to completely disagree with North West Norfolk MP James Wild on the rail strikes (Lynn News, June 24).

What absolute nonsense. The unions have had enough after two years of keeping the country moving during Covid. Working 24/7 every day of the year.

They have received nought per cent pay rises for the last three years, while the cost of living is soaring (unlike James Wild who has seen his pay increase every year during the same period).

The fat cat rail bosses are cutting jobs. Offered a paltry pay cut, increase the working week, and proposed to pay less for enhanced shifts and changes to pensions. They want to make us poorer at work and in retirement. No trade union would accept those conditions. Great Northern RMT members missed out by five votes to vote for strike action due to James Wild’s Government and the severe anti-trade union laws that are against working people in this country.

Hopefully when they re-ballot it will be a lot different and they will join the fight. Strike is a last resort. RMT members lose pay when we strike, we don’t want to strike but we have no choice what do you want us to do beg? The railway is falling apart due to under-investment over many years. The Government and the private companies have stripped out the money from the railways into private companies profits £500 million.

Concentrate on getting a new hospital Mr Wild as you have gone silent on that front! And stop the criticism of working people standing up for themselves.

Look into the huge salaries and profits the rail bosses and companies are making, that is morally wrong.

If you’re reading this and you’re not in a union join one. If you don’t stand up you’ll forever be on your knees. Victory to the RMT.

John Hunt,

RMT member, King’s Lynn

Fracking.
Fracking.

ENERGY

Reality bites over fuels

Quite amazing how the realities of life have to a certain extent put climate change and the reasons for it on the back burner. Oil companies being given permission to drill, dear old Boris considering reopening a coal mine.

What’s the betting that the subject of to frack or not to frack will appear again soon. Never mind a mini-earthquake, we need the gas. All of a sudden it’s let’s become self-substaining folks. Will our bovine friends be granted immunity from criminal charges and allowed to belch from both ends. Putin’s attack on the Ukraine seems to have given Western politicians major headaches about future energy supplies from Russia. Will the eastern part of Germany open up its brown coal mines once more and start to purchase its oil and gas from future British oil and gas fields.

It’s like this folks, the realities of life as we know it today are far more important than the future of our dear old planet, Professor Brian Cox is one of the few who can see the reality of that problem and I’d rather listen to him than Greta Thunburg, who has had no experience of life’s trials and tribulations. She’s very good at rent-a-crowd but not much else. The bottom line is survival now.

Mr and Mrs Smith with three kids and themselves to clothe and feed plus a mortgage are more concerned with now than what might happen at some unknown period of time in the future. The horrendous cost of living today is what is on their mind and how they will manage.

Politicians continue to score Brownie points off each other when they should be very concerned about the state of the nation. But are they bovvered? It’s sometimes a good question to ask, because they can walk away from their mistakes, take their pensions and don’t really care about Mr Smith and his family.

The above makes me a very cynical realist, but then again I’ve lived for many years on this planet, watching the world change for both good and bad in every decade since 1940. So maybe I’ve a right to be cynical.

I don’t foresee today’s fiscal and political disasters ending any time soon but maybe, just maybe, a firm decision might be made to make the UK energy efficient again with fossil fuels and let the climate change fanatics weep, wail and gnash their teeth as they run to the DIY shop for more superglue.

Alan Mudge,

Pentney

POLITICS

Britain is now more broken

Not so many years ago the Tories used “Broken Britain” as a huge derisory taunt at the Labour Government of the time and they went on to promise us those fabled ‘sunny uplands’ we heard Boris glowingly refer to. Today, as I listen to the news I hear terrifying reports of a broken health service, broken ‘competitive’ energy market, broken housing provision, broken social services, broken ambulance support, broken education system, broken pollution targets and broken legal and prison functions and broken public transport services.

Apart from mentioning a national debt of unbelievably bad proportions I don’t think I’ve forgotten anything. I’ll leave others to consider the situation but suggest those Conservative manifestos and promises have come to nought and possibly that ‘broken’ Labour Britain was an infinitely happier, more content place than the current degrading fiasco being overseen by this Tory Government.

Happy to hear from Lizzie (Truss), Duncan (Mayhew), James (Wild) or any one of the plethora of Conservative MPs here in the East of England make a counter claim in support of their tenure. Over to you guys!

Steve Mackinder,

Denver



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