How proud I was to be standing at Stoney Grove this weekend and witnessing another bastion of capitalist pride fall to the proletariat. My feelings were strengthened by standing shoulder to shoulder with Shirley and Martin Johnson, who have worked at this house for all their lives. Without complaint they have toiled under an unfair and unjust system until now justice has been done. May they enjoy the fruits of their many labours. Let us praise Simon Tinsley and Ann Simmons for their egalitarian gesture.

Arthur 'Red' Covers
'The Kremlin', Railway Lane, Lower Puckering

WHITHER THE EMPIRE

Whilst the changing status of Stoney Grove may have been driven by economic necessity it should still be seen with regret. It seems that even a lottery win is not enough money to support a great house. What a shame that our families no longer have the wealth to keep these great houses as homes. It is further evidence, if any were needed, of the decline of the Empire.

Nigel Morcombe
The Nook, Upper Puckering