I am fed up with people not knowing the difference between the Essex accent and London’s East End gutter talk.

I was born in the East End, in the same house as my mother. She spoke in a clear, precise, homely voice.

My dad was an Essex man who spoke with a calm, restful Essex accent. I lived in Bow until the age of 12, when I was evacuated.

If my sister and I ever used East End gutter talk within the house, we were corrected immediately.

Unfortunately, this slovenly talk was given the seal of approval by the media when it was brought into our homes via television.

Then came the demise in schools of good speech, as children were no longer given the chance of learning tongue twisters, nursery rhymes, poems, prose and Bible passages by rote.

Many people just slipped into using this lazy speech which comes under the title of Estuary English.

I ask that people stop insulting those who speak with a genuine Essex accent, mainly farmers, business people and those in north Essex.

Elsie M Hill
Samuel Road
Langdon Hills