MR Blake’s vehement response to my simple and honest experiences of visiting Lydney Lake have left me bemused.

After my first reading I felt violated at the level of ire and the personal slurs against my character because I am unknown to him.  

Utterly ridiculous? Yes, I do not know Mr Blake, yet I do not doubt his existence and I fail to understand why the fact I am unknown to him is problematic.

Well, I re-read the response and actually felt quite chilled as the gusto of his curiosity seems to have driven him to great lengths.  

He openly admits scouring lists of Parkrun members and asking other people if they know me.  

As a lone female runner who enjoys the solitude of the lake and its environs I find this wholly inappropriate, completely bizarre and more than slightly creepy.

I chose to bring my family to live in Lydney because I found the community friendly and its open spaces beautiful.  

I want my children to be part of a thriving and dynamic community, and to be part of a town that has the potential to move positively into the 21st century.

Yet the parochial views I referred to in my previous correspondence certainly reared their head in the responses from Messrs Blake and Brown who seem desperate to live in the past rather than the future.

The level of hyperbole used by Mr Blake in reference to the ‘demolition’ of the car park seems to be his chief gripe.  

If the entrances are your legal thoroughfare then take it up in a court of law or keep your dirty laundry in your washing basket.

No one really wants people banging on and moaning – be positive and show some appreciation for what this town offers us all, rather than focusing on the few who have the privilege to live adjacent to the lake.

I am an optimist and while wearing my freshly polished rose-tinted glasses – incidentally they are from Specsavers – I shall continue to enjoy Lydney, however I will be wary should the local residents leave those half empty cups behind as they descend their ivory towers to wield pitchforks at ‘newcomers’ and any unwelcome views.

Keep smiling and love Lydney.

– Ginny Goulding, Lydney.