Dear Editor,

THE Wellington Museum Outreach Team attended the Wellington Spring Fair in Wellington Park on Sunday, May 3, when over 120 people visited the stall.

There was a wide range of exhibits covering such items as the railway, Fox Bros, brickworks, The Duke of Wellington and Waterloo several interactive displays - the most popular being a typewriter which fascinated many children!

The range of museum gifts were on sale together with some of the local history publications the museum publishes, all of which generated brisk business for the museum!

A warm welcome awaits you at the museum where there is much more to see and do, including a new children’s trail and the new large interactive screen.

More can be found at www.wellingtonmuseum.org.uk

Mike Menhenitt

Chairman, Wellington Local History and Museum Society

Dear Editor,

DID we in the past and even now have Jewish neighbours, Jewish friends or work colleagues? One of mine at the House of Commons was secretary to Dennis Healey. Every Christmas she asked to come with me to the Carol Service in Westminster Hall, for members of both houses the Commons and Lords and their staff.

The Service was led by the International Band of the Salvation Army. I asked my friend why she wanted to join me. ‘I love carols' she said.

Jesus Christ was Jewish, born of a Jewish mother, fulfilling all the rituals, and be brought up as an Orthodox Jew. Jesus knew his Hebrew Scriptures.

To us they are the Old Testament. But the prophets often spoke of Jews being stubborn and stiff necked.

The first Christians were Jewish and worshipped in synagogues, following the Jewish liturgy and singing the psalms. As the church grew and spread, so did divisions separating Jews from Christians, as Christians were not observing the Jewish rituals first, before their conversion. There is of course a long history down the centuries of ill-will between Jews and non-Jews. Jews were even banished in middle England, and either exiled from or persecuted in the countries where they lived and traded. In Shakespeare’s Merchant of Venice, Shylock’s speech the Jewish merchant, spoke of his hatred of Christians, and regrettably the hatred of Jews is the Anti-Semitism today.

Since 1962 at the second Vatican Council, the Pope finally apologised to the Jews for having blamed them for the death of Jesus Christ. This has improved relations between Jews and Christians, with more inter faith co-operation and ministries. Anti-Semitism has worsened today, because speeches of hatred, racism and violence against Jews and other faiths are trumpeted by warmongering leaders on social media. But there would be no Judaism or Christianity without our foundations in the One true God of Abraham.

The Chief Rabbi says only talking between our faiths, and communication with warring factions, brings peace. In the recent UK attacks and stabbings on Jewish people in Manchester and north London, members of other faiths have gone to the aid of their Jewish neighbours. This country has been built on the democratic Judaic Christian values of tolerance, kindness and living and working alongside our neighbours, whoever they are and from whatever faith or none. We need Peace, not war in the Middle East.

Isabel Ward

Wellington

Dear Editor,

IN April, I took a few weeks holiday, and while away, I saw a post on social media to say that there were road works taking place on Park Street and Cann Street in Taunton.

Having now returned home, I’ve had the opportunity to drive along the newly resurfaced road. It was a smooth, comfortable, quiet ride; such a pleasure!

Therefore, I feel that I should offer Somerset Council some praise for the work which has been undertaken.

There have been a number of other similar road works in the past few years which were equally good, and it’s great to see these improvements; especially considering the constraints on local budgets caused by the need to spend so much of it on social care.

No doubt there will be those road users who are not happy; generally because theirs is not one of those roads repaired. Their frustration is totally understandable, but unfortunately it will take some time to address the failure of previous councils to maintain key infrastructure.

I just hope that Somerset Council can continue to undertake these improvements; they are most welcome.

Regards,

Supplied by the Liberal Democrats of Wellington and District on behalf of Tony Sutcliffe, Taunton

Dear Editor,

Green - a joke party but not as funny as the Monster Raving Loony Party. Even that Wing Commander on his bicycle was more Green than Polanski. What a mess when our politics comes to this.

Lester May, via email