I heartily applaud Mr B Bull for his letter regarding the closure of John Ford (Closure is a sign of our times', April 12).
However, I take issue with his remark that "the Burnt Oak area and its residents have no pride in the past". There are many of us who remember John Ford, Draper, all through our childhood and were very sad at its recent closure, so much so that some of us wrote to Mr Ford telling him this.
It was an extra blow to see that within weeks of the closure the marvellous shop front was demolished and replaced with a vacuous piece of glass. It is absolutely correct that if John Ford had been anywhere other than Burnt Oak it would have been saved but that is the measure of what Barnet Council thinks of Burnt Oak.
Apart from Hassan (men's clothier), there is nothing left of Burnt Oak shopping area and, Mr Bull, we all grieve about this.
Theresa Harvey
Blessbury Road, Burnt Oak
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