I have only recently moved to Madley from Cambridge but it seems to me to contradict all the good things about Herefordshire which made me choose it from among many possible areas.

I had been researching possible destinations to move to in order to concentrate on landscape painting, and visited Galloway, Pembrokeshire, Cornwall, Devon and the Lake District as contenders.

I chose Herefordshire, even though I had no connection with the county, as the best place to combine quality of life, beautiful scenery, good gardening/growing conditions and ease of access. And after less than four weeks here I am thrilled with my choice: what you have here is real working countryside, with real food, a rhythm of life more in tune with the natural world, and real people who are relaxed, helpful and have time for others, not the treadmill drones rushing around in pursuit of Mammon increasingly populating East Anglia.

This is rural England at its best, something which is under threat everywhere else.

I fully support recycling and have been a dedicated recycler of all kinds of waste for decades. But to truck waste out from the town into the countryside, and then the end products back again, does not seem a very 'green' solution.

SUZY BISHOP MA (Cantab), FCMA,

Madley, Hereford.