Letter: Tribute to the CT — and its reliable purveyors

From Mr David Pepin

Sir, — Congratulations on 8000 weeks! We have been readers for about 2500 of them — well over 50 years. My wife, June (June Clark, pianist and church choral composer), and I have had the Church Times delivered by our newsagent, first in St Albans for half that time and now, since 1990, here at Alston in the remote North Pennines.

We would like to pay tribute to newsagents and post offices or general stores in isolated rural areas. Clifford and Anne Bramwell’s little shop and post office at Garrigill, a small village just south of Alston, has delivered newspapers, magazines, etc., faithfully in all weathers. It is one of the reasons that we have not subscribed to the Church Times and other newspapers on line. In our small way, we want to keep our friendly newsagents in business. It remains to be seen how much longer this will be possible.

In our far-off St Albans days we knew the CT Editor Rosamund Essex well. Her later column “All sorts and conditions” always gave a helpful slant on various issues — as your writers still do today.

DAVID PEPIN

Old Meadow Barns

Garrigill Road,

Alston CA9 3UE