I was puzzled to read Lucy Potter's criticism of Councillor Simon Williams (The Argus, March 30).

He was re-iterating a comment which has been made over the years - that the timings of council meetings and the quantity of work make it difficult to balance a working career with one's duties.

I support Councillor Williams' hard-working and conscientious approach and do not recognise some of the more lurid comments in Lucy's letter.

There is a tendency to believe only people with a lot of time on their hands or who work odd hours are able to properly fulfil a council role.

Hence a lot of retired folk become councillors rather than a representative cross-section of the community, which is exactly what Simon was saying.

-Nimrod Ping, Oxford