The theme of this column is essentially about control: both its almost total absence and its excessive use. After all, I do rather love a good contradiction.

In the former case, the prosecution offers the evidence provided by some recent comments posted up on the Hadleigh Nub News Facebook page.

Our minister of the word, the Revd. Editor Derek Davis, ran a story that global rental platform AirBnB has offered to help house a number of Afghan refugees fleeing their homeland after the almost instantaneous collapse of the previous regime to the Taleban.

The article suggested that a small number of properties on their books in the Hadleigh area might be included in their offer. This follows the honourable commitment of some of the town's political leadership, most notably Mayor Maritime Minns and councillor Mick Macadam Fraser to answer the broader call to do 'our bit'.

Actually, our bit is most likely to be little more than encouraging, if encouragement is really needed, our fine congregations of citizens to help out, as they've done many times in the past, in terms of donations of much-needed stuff and money to help Afghan interpreters and others who helped the British Army in Kabul.

If past experience is anything to go by, the majority of those fleeing persecution will be housed in our major towns and cities and not in places like Hadleigh.

Some responses to the Revd Editor's posting, especially from one local individual, were anything but charitable or even thoughtful or indeed even coherent.

Using mainly copy and pasted commentary ironically seemingly from the US, this person went the full English (Defence League) and basically suggested the end of civilisation and the new waffle shop in Maiden Way as hordes of Afghans ran riot and imposed the burkha on everyone from the Dean of Hadleigh to Footsie Grutchfield.

It was, of course, a completely over-the-top and unevidenced sequence of prejudiced and racist nonsense.

I'm told that the author of these comments has a particularly aggressive 'style', and has form in social media land, apparently.

Yet these particular out-of-control written ejaculations were so vile and divisive that, sagaciously, the Revd Editor took the comments down. Furthermore, we have been given to understand that this person hosted a home visit from the local police who were keen to make sure that all remained in order in future.

In the belief that all sinners wish to renounce their past mistakes if given the right opportunity, I do hope this person offers to donate one of the seven Hadleigh properties for which he hopes to secure planning permission, to Suffolk Refugee Support. That would certainly make amends.

Talking of the Plod, I must confess to my broad admiration for the county's Police & Crime Commissioner, Tim Passmore. Re-elected in a landslide in May and so enjoying his third consecutive term, Mr Passmore has a strong track record in fighting the scourge of domestic violence.

The East Anglian Daily Times reported in May that domestic violence cases had risen 13% since the first COVID19 lockdowns. That means there were 10,000 Suffolk cases over the last 12 months for which data is available.

This shocking figure is almost certainly an under-estimate. One particularly challenging type of domestic violence is coercive control. This might not always directly involve physical violence, but instead its threat thereof, public humiliation, control of a partner's contact with friends, access to their bank account etc.

All-in-all a pretty horrible form of abuse and Hadleigh is unlikely to be untouched by this evil.

What can be done? Well, could an application not be made to support Suffolk Women's Aid (although men can also be victims of coercive control, of course) via the new People's Project initiative, backed by Hadleigh town councillors, with £5,000 funding on offer to set up a local support service?

Don't get me wrong: most of the other initial ideas being bandied about, apart from the non-starter nonsense to erect a statue to that old fjord-fiddling rogue Guthrum (as if, Big G), are admirable.

But something which addresses coercive control could be a life-changer if not a life-saver for someone in Hadleigh.

Any takers?