When I moved to Malvern this time last year I thought what a beautiful and quiet place it must be, and I looked forward to a good night's sleep every night free from the din of the city.

Only I seem to have experienced more problems sleeping, what with the prevalence of gardening and DIY implements that get bandied around these wonderful gardens every day, often at quite unsocial hours on a Saturday and Sunday morning.

In the summer there are very few places in the heart of Malvern you can walk without the serenity of the place being disrupted by the dreadful scraich of someone's hedge strimmer a couple of streets away. Have people in Malvern forgotten how to enjoy their gardens?

I write not so much in relation to this point, but in relation to the imminent closure of the Con Club, a venue which has been host to an eclectic mix of musical talents the area has to offer for many years.

The closure of this venue, if it happens, will be the end of a string of closures to venues that the area has witnessed over the years, most of which I have never seen myself, and it will leave a cultural vacuum that people of all ages in the area will sorely miss.

It seems that the only noise being generated in Malvern comes from made-made machines such as chainsaws, hedge strimmers, electric lawnmowers and traffic. Elgar must be turning in his grave!

If the Con Club closes down, then I fear that many of the people involved in putting on events in this venue will relocate, leaving Club Nine as the only entertainment venue for new musical forms. I know which I prefer.

Stuart Seaton, Abbey Road, Great Malvern.