OH DEAR. I fear that John Burgess has been mixing with the wrong sort of people at County Hall since his election and is in serious danger of becoming a politician! By this I mean that he is acquiring the skill of answering the question which was NOT asked, rather than the one which was.

Whilst I am grateful to him for the information about the repairs to Lewis Lane, my query was about the reasoning behind the expensive rebuilding of the Cecily Hill surface at a time when money is supposedly in short supply. This he has studiously ignored.

I think the time has now arrived, John, for you to give us a straightforward reply. I realise that you were probably not a councillor at the time when the decision was made and anyway would not have been involved in that decision which would have been left to the council staff. Nevertheless, I suggest that you ask those faceless officials for a reason which you can then share with the people who elected you to the hot seat and as a ‘new boy' you are well placed to ask the staff to explain their reasoning.

I did not get my fingers trapped in letter boxes when delivering leaflets for you in order to be palmed off with an anodyne response to a very reasonable question.

MICHAEL ELLWOOD Somerford Road Cirencester