HUGH Griffiths of Lydney wonders if there is something in the air that is making a trip to local supermarkets more like visiting Porton Down cold research station.
"It is extraordinary how many people appear to be still affected by last winter's viruses," he says.
"Perhaps the causes are a little more obvious? Anyone who has driven through the industrial heart of Avonmouth will have witnessed the ominous discharge from chemical plant flues.
"The prevailing (South Westerly) wind would carry this towards Lydney. Is it safe?"
And he wonders if there are not other unseen hazards we should be aware of, such as the discharge from Oldbury Power Station which also blows towards Lydney on a Sou'Wester.
"Lydney is also under the aviation Britain-to-America flight path. The sky above is regularly filled with vapour trails. Where does the discharge go? Does it fall to the ground?
"It has been recorded that a jumbo jet at take-off exudes as much pollution as 40,000 cars on a journey from London to Birmingham. A plane takes off every 20 seconds. Should one worry?'
He says that closer to home there are several factories that emit the most foul smells not to mention discharges. It all begs the question of whether everything we inhale is harmless.
"The evidence suggests that something is amiss," he said.
"Or have many of the residents of Lydney simply been infected by a particularly stubborn virus?"
The Forest of Dean District Council, which monitors local pollution levels, said it did not think there was a particular risk from Avonmouth although it kept and eye on pollutants from that direction and also from South Wales factories on the other side of the channel.
Radiation levels were also monitored and only safe background levels were being recorded.