THE BRIEF mention in Wednesday’s issue of the pop-up exhibition for the Newport Ship at the Senedd smacks to me of desperation. The antics of Councillor Charles Ferris in fancy dress and striking false coins in all directions tend only to confirm this. Charles, don’t you think the clock is ticking overtime on this over-subsidised obsession? Get a grip, old son.

Job losses, food banks, and derelict shops; aren’t these far more pressing needs to be addressed than a waterlogged hulk of dubious provenance? We in Newport have increasingly limited resources to put things right. For Heaven’s sake, let’s draw in those limits a little more responsibly before we all fly off into cloud-cuckoo land.

Julian R. Powell Larch Grove Newport