THIS week sees the first anniversary of the closing of Tavistock's much loved Old Folk's Rest Room.
The building in Duke Street has lain empty, ugly and slowly deteriorating for a whole year since. Meanwhile, our senior citizens have been cruelly deprived of their warm, cosy and convenient place of refuge in the very centre of the town.
I was actually driven to writing this letter by the sight of several groups of elderly residents sheltering outside the door of the rest room in the deluge that was last year's Dickensian Evening. What a tragedy that they were not allowed to dry themselves off inside and enjoy a warm cup of tea!
I don't pretend to understand the legal shenanigans behind the closing of this once fantastic facility, but I'm sure it must have been due to someone, somewhere trying to 'get rich quick'. It seems to me as being a classic example of the triumph of avarice over decency and compassion. Whatever happened to society's respect for its older members?
Steve Hipsey
Redmoor Close
Tavistock