THERE is only so much one can take and I have been compelled to write to the people of Royston to ask, no to beg them all to stop it. Stop the negativity, stop the apathy, stop the criticism. Stop using the pharases dying on its feet and ghost town to

THERE is only so much one can take and I have been compelled to write to the people of Royston to ask, no to beg them all to stop it.

Stop the negativity, stop the apathy, stop the criticism. Stop using the pharases "dying on its feet" and "ghost town" to refer to where we live. And please stop blaming Tesco for the shop closures in town.

I read with some amusement the opinion that Cambridge is now in danger of becoming a ghost town due to the potential congestion charges. No it will not - and neither will Royston.

What is happening is simple evolution as nothing can stay the same forever however fiercely nostalgic we stubbornly remain.

I will admit that I have little knowledge about the politics of running a town like Royston, therefore I admit I am not trying to be clever with facts. I do not know what the rental charges are to run a business in the town. I do not know why many of our shops are currently vacant and I wholly agree that both Angel Pavement and the market require some tender loving care.

This letter is based purely as a viewpoint of a blissfully ignorant observer who has worked in Royston for the past 13 years and lived in the area all my life.

I challenge anyone to take a look up the High Street on a Saturday and call Royston a ghost town. Royston is a super little town.

We are so lucky to live in Royston. A day trip to Cambridge or Stevenage or London doesn't make anyone disloyal to their town. It makes them an ordinary shopper behaving in an ordinary way.

So please, people of Royston stop wasting so much energy reminiscing about how things used to be, stop nit-picking and stop criticising, and most of all stop adopting other people's opinions as your own.

Stop lamenting over what Royston could have and celebrate all the things it has got to offer.

CATHRYN NORMAN

Barkway Road

Royston