l FISHING licence dodgers are feeling the full force of the Environment Agency as it stages a riverside crackdown.

This is not before time. Speaking as someone who is never far from the Severn's banks, I can vouchsafe that there are many intelligent, conservation-conscious anglers around. It is a minority that causes problems, for the absence of a licence can also indicate a predilection to other offences such littering and assorted environment crime.

Officers of the Environment Agency might like to tackle these problems, too.

l WANDERING through St Mary's churchyard, Kempsey, my gaze alighted on a Portland gravestone that could only mean one thing - it was a Commonwealth War grave.

I looked at the inscription. It recorded the death on September 17, 1920 of Major Francis Gerald Gilson. There was also a reference to the fact that the had been wounded at Ypres in October, 1914. This naturally made my ears prick up - the time and place meant that he was an Old Contemptible.

I checked him out on a website. Major Gilson was the husband of Doris Lucy Gilson, of Boulterley, Broomhall, Worcester. If anyone knows his story, I would be very grateful if they would write to me. All correspondence will be acknowledged.

l THERE have been a number of brutal attacks across Worcestershire so far this year. Some of the perpetrators have been caught and dealt with by the courts. However, I remain perplexed by some of the sentences handed out.

Only recently, someone was given three months for beating a student's head against a wall in the middle of Worcester. Three months? This is no punishment at all. The country has no chance of defeating crime with such pathetic raps over knuckles. The savagery on our streets must be met with equally brutal sentencing.

l MY colleague Mike Pryce wrote an article a few years ago about Grimley resident Gerald Coates.

Mr Coates has for long been a legendary character. I am told he can sometimes be found at the Camp Inn. Mr Coates has for long been a conservationist and poet. His thoughts on life can be seen dotted around the fields near the Severn that he has turned into nature reserves. It is a pity there are not more people like him around.