CEMETERIES are, to most people, sacred places.

Surely, nobody with any sense of decency would knowingly treat a burial ground or mourners gathered there with disrespect?

Not so, it seems. There is one despicable little coward who has targeted a cemetery and elderly mourners as a soft touch.

It is hard to imagine someone would stoop so low as to hit a graveside mourner from behind and steal her purse.

Let us hope the victim recovers from her ordeal and the sad person who carried out the attack bought something with his swag which might put him permanently in a cemetery. Life outside TV SOAP series fans avidly follow the fortunes of Emmerdale's superchef, Marlon.

The actor's local links and occasional forays in to Journal-land for a pint with his grandad endeared him to local viewers. Sadly, the actor's grandad, Tyldesley man Tommy Charnock, passed away at 84.

This week, one of Tommy's 'Bongs' pals, Colleen Bond, who featured in our pages a couple of years back after being introduced to the TV star, was herself celebrating becoming a gran -- baby Courtney, seven pounds one ounce. Life really must go on.