Your letters on medieval holy woman Margery Kempe, the environment, politics, mental health and the High Street

Here are the Lynn News letters from the edition of Friday, April 11, 2025…Performance would be great in Margery’s home townLynn’s medieval holy woman Margery Kempe was mother of 14 children so she must have a place on the family tree of most Lynn News readers.

My play about her, The Fire of Love, premiered in Wells-next-the-Sea last month.Five splendid performances by the town’s Theatre Society had the audience laughing and crying on cue.Just one thing disappointed me: that the premiere wasn’t in Lynn itself, where Margery lived her flamboyant life. As I reach out to other venues worldwide I’m making this special approach to Margery’s descendants in Lynn.If you’d like to consider the script for a possible local performance please contact me at top.note@yahoo.co.uk Tony D TriggsNorth WalshamDeclaration is laughable and hypocritical If the government ever decides to come for your wood burner, I suggest the response to this should be: “As soon as you close the so-called ecological wood burning plant known as Drax”.The latest report by climate think tank Ember highlights the obscene amount of subsidy it received last year (£2million -a-day) in order to support Ed Miliband’s Net Zero dream. His passion for the burning of acres of trees classed as ‘biomass’ to create pretend ‘green energy’, whilst we are told our wood burners are a serious pollutant to the planet.Such a declaration would be laughable were it not so offensive and hypocritical to boot.I think if we aimed for Net Zero of this deluded minister, that would be far more beneficial to the planet and our pockets. Mrs José O’WareMethwoldToo late to retrieve this corpse of a High StreetWhile it’s clear Lynn’s town centre and High Street is in terminal decline like so many other places, I find it encouraging that people like Paul Brandon still dream of those halcyon days and wish them to return. Huge numbers of shoppers still visit Lynn but as West Norfolk Council, the architects and project managers know, the vast majority of shoppers now stop at the retail parks on the edge of town and never venture further.Clearly the unintended consequences of the lauded ‘development’ of the old Campbell’s site and beyond has effectively eviscerated the town centre. At the time, this obvious outcome was flagged up by objectors but silenced by those determined to see Lynn rise as a regional retail destination. The borough council got it hugely wrong and with the benefits of hindsight we can all see the economic and social damage created by promoting the exit of most major high street retailers to those soulless trading estates at the Hardwick.I’m happy to hear any councillors defend the strategy and tell me (and Paul Brandon) I’m wrong but first I’d suggest you walk the full length of the town centre’s retail experience and take a stroll round the Tuesday Market before you comment.Linnets deserved better… much better. It needs a rethink, but I’d guess it’s too late to revive this corpse and who’s accountable? Nobody! Steve MackinderDenverYou should not hold back free speechThe loss of free speech in Britain has been eroding for years but it has now reached another low with the prosecution of a peaceful anti-abortion campaigner praying silently outside a clinic in Bournemouth. She held a sign reading: “Here to talk if you want.” No coercion, merely an invitation.It is nauseating that Livia Tossici-Bolt could be given a criminal record and ordered to pay prosecution costs of £20,000, to the point it has attracted global publicity with a damning indictment on the UK persecuting freedom of thought, but not freedom of rioting by Hamas supporters.The Donald Trump administration has expressed concern about it to the point of monitoring the case, correlating it with the prime minister Sir Keir Starmer’s hopes of securing a free trade deal, now at risk, over the principle of free speech being abdicated in the UK, such is the ideological gap between the PM and the US president.The question is, should the White House hold Westminster to account from a distance, or is it blackmail? The Government has instigated this and cannot easily take the moral high ground of its own interpretation.With Sir Keir Starmer being a cheerleader for globalism he has made a rod for his own back if he shows sanctimonious indignation at any barriers to trade.Mr Trump is the leader of the free world of which Britain is an embarrassment. He rightly questions the lack of British freedoms, not conducive to the often quoted ‘special relationship’ on the UK’s side and essentially bringing freedom into trade talks between the two countries.The days of the UK and Europe being freeloaders off the back of America have gone with more storms on the horizon for Sir Keir. To put it succinctly, the PM’s role on the world stage is one of him being the monkey and the president as the organ grinder with the clout to call the shots. How about that for free speech.David FlemingDownhamTogether we can make a differenceApril is Stress Awareness Month and I am writing to remind your readers about our new St John Ambulance mental awareness campaign, the Hi Vis Stress Vest.This initiative aims to address the critical issue of mental health in the construction industry, where nearly seven in 10 workers have suspected a colleague was suffering from serious depression but found it too difficult to talk about. What is more, our research revealed that almost a third of the UK construction workforce is currently struggling, overwhelmed, or suicidal, which was alarming to read.As a charity that saves lives, we created the Hi Vis Stress Vest campaign to help break down barriers and start conversations among workers who find it difficult to talk about mental health. Opening up to someone who’s ready to listen is a vital first step and our research shows many construction workers wish they could talk about mental health more easily and would be more likely to talk to a trained mental health first aider.We urge all employees, whatever sector they work in, to talk to their managers about workplace mental health First Aid training. This training can equip workers with the skills to spot hidden signs, start difficult conversations and create supportive environments.We hope our campaign will also persuade business leaders to invest in training First Aiders to potentially save lives.For more information about the Hi Vis Stress Vest campaign and to find out more about our new face-to-face mental health First Aid training, please visit sja.org.uk/hivisTogether, we can make a difference and support those who need it most.Lisa SharmanNational Head of Education and Commercial TrainingSt John AmbulancePicture of the Week