Dear DerbyBill

I am happy that you enjoy Lewisham Life and as you do then I must have been wrong when I said it was utterly pointless.

In less inflammatory words my concerns with this publication are:

1) Funds are short and the money used to produce Lewisham Life might be better used providing things like more social care for the elderly or better facilities for schools.

2) Lewisham have no statutory duty to produce this document and so if, like me, you would prefer less government it is a prime candidate for the axe.

3) The article content is largely shameless propaganda. By way of example there was a story a few issues ago about a woman who had managed to give up smoking after 20 or so years of trying. Laudable? yes and I salute that person. However there was no discussion of why it had taken that individual 20 years to give up or why so many people in Lewisham still smoke. In other words the article was selective and did not discuss the wider issues.

I hope that makes may position seem more reasonable.