So nice to see the shelters restored

ABSOLUTELY delighted to see all three vintage shelters along Westcliff Parade/Cliff Gardens are having a full makeover. Two of the shelters look virtually complete, whilst the other, opposite the Westcliff Hotel, is at present being restored.

Over time the seafront has lost a number of these delightful old structures but now it appears that Southend Council has found the funds to restore these iconic seafront landmarks. Good on them!

Let us hope that they are not subjected to wanton vandalism or become a dumping area for rubbish.

These gorgeous decorative shelters are a throwback to an earlier time, when pace of life was far slower and life's pleasures were simple.

One good use of leisure time back then was sitting in one of these shelters and watching the seafront world drift by.

Maybe we could all do with a bit of that kind of chill out, in our fast-paced world of today.

CHRIS JONES Holly Tree Gardens, Rayleigh 

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Immigrants are essential to NHS

IN his letter, Robert Baillie states that 3.5 million immigrants have entered the UK and very few of these will have contributed to the NHS.

He fails to take into account two things. Firstly, working immigrants such as those from the EU are paying tax.

A quick internet search reveals that between 1995 and 2011 immigrants from the European Economic Area made a more positive contribution to public spending than UK natives as they are less likely to claim benefits and live in social housing (source: Nuffield Trust/The Economist). Second, the NHS relies on immigrant labour. For example, a recent OECD report stated that 36 per cent of doctors were born overseas (source: The Independent).

Josephine Hughes Shoebury Road, Southend 

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MP is absolutely right to speak out

COUNCILLOR Ian Gilbert (February 14) presents a very distorted picture of what James Duddridge MP is arguing for in his criticism of Speaker John Bercow. I don’t suppose Mr Duddridge will stoop to answer such nonsense, but perhaps I can clarify matters. You can easily see when prejudice rears its ugly head by reading exactly what is written. You do not have to feel that this or that is the case and claim to know the mood of others as Mr Gilbert does. It just distorts the truth. Mr Bercow has twice clearly shown he is not impartial and that is after all the essential quality necessary to the role of Speaker. No other evidence or claim is necessary to remove him from his office, particularly when he has defended his partiality. In addition, he has on a number of occasions proved an embarrassment to the office of Speaker, which without the latest errors might have been overlooked. He has indeed made a positive contribution in other ways. But who, for example, would support a referee in a football match who clearly favours one side over another? It would be outrageous to do so. It is just as outrageous to support a Speaker who imagines that he can be impartial when it suits him and not otherwise. Well done Mr Duddridge!

GORDON BRENNAN Tyrone Road, Thorpe Bay 

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Rewards give the wrong impression

IT would appear that one of our Castle Point schools, desperate to establish some degree of discipline, is to reward ‘good’ pupils by allowing them to leave school ten minutes before the bell. What about the children who are very good? Will they be allowed to leave half an hour early? And then there are the children whose behaviour is excellent? Will they be allowed to leave at lunch-time? And is it really good psychology to reward children for what they should do anyway? To extrapolate this ad absurdum, very very good children would be totally spared the ordeal of being bossed about for most of their lives by not going to school at all. What of those detained until the bell goes? Bolshie resentment I guess. But if attitudes were right, being sent home early would be more of a punishment than a reward. The idea seems barmy to me because it seems to underline the attitude, deeply ingrained in many pupils, that school is a form of penal servitude. From the earliest years, children should be taught that education is a privilege and time spent in school should be valued. Instead of sending the good children home early I would send the bad ones home and allow the good’uns the voluntary option to remain behind for half an hour in order to catch up on what disruptive pupils have denied them. I attend a couple of classes voluntarily and regard half term as a deprivation and the summer recess far too long. Perhaps my ideas sound barmy but the whole baby-minding service known as education needs reviewing from top to bottom.

RON HURRELL Hadleigh Park Avenue, Thundersley 

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Local people are missing out again

REGARDING article on February 14 about new homes at St Nicolas Mews, I’m glad to see Basildon Council giving the keys to a new house to outsiders not from Basildon.

What about our own townspeople who are still not housed or are homeless?

This practise only rubs salts into wounds, once again the council has failed its real duty to put the town’s own people first.

NEIL FRANKLIN Little Lullaway, Basildon