Letters to the Editor

SIR - It seems that mysterious events are taking place in Gilstead without the local residents being consulted.

A seat, which has been sited at the top of Primrose Lane for at least 70 years, has vanished together with a public telephone call box.

Could this be anything to do with the new Dr Who, I ask?

This seat has always been a popular resting place for walkers and residents having made the steep ascent of Primrose Lane. It was also a meeting place for the elderly residents especially during the summer months, do they not count anymore!

Community Chest funding had paid for spring bulbs around the seat. The seat was in good repair and should be reinstated until such time as a full and democratic consultation has been carried out.

Who did BT consult with before removing a public facility?

I would welcome comments from anyone as to why this seat has been removed and what is now being proposed if anything for the gap that has been created.

Will the mystery seat-snatcher please reveal themselves?

What is the village going to lose next I ask, the new litter bin?

Anne Jarvis, Gilstead Lane, Bingley.

Abortion concerns

SIR - Why, whenever abortion is discussed, does 90 per cent of the clamour for restrictions come from men? I am certain that if there were to be a biological volte-face, and men had to experience pregnancy and childbirth, demands for abortions would rocket!

I am particularly concerned by the interventions of elderly clerics, especially the celibates, who have no conception (the pun is intentional!) of the reality of ordinary women's lives.

These gentlemen would be better employed cleansing their own filthy stables of matters such as paedophile priests, rampant homophobia, etc, before dictating to women what they should, or should not do, with their own bodies.

Peter Wilson, Thornhill Grove, Calverley.

Time to pull out

SIR - I see Jacques Chirac is once again attacking Britain. This time he is proposing that we give up our EU rebate in spite of the fact that we are one of the largest contributors.

In fact we pay in about two and a half times as much as France. Also the EU wants us to increase our contribution.

There are too many countries now in the EU getting more out than they pay in.

Surely even these most ardent pro-Europeans can see we are not getting a fair deal. In fact we will never get anywhere staying in Europe because neither Germany nor France are our friends.

I would like to vote at the next election for a party that could take us out of the EU altogether.

N Brown, Peterborough Place, Undercliffe.

Eve of destruction

SIR - The chances of the EU self-destructing in a financial fireball are surely getting closer every day. Our rebate, secured by Margaret Thatcher in 1984, is causing problems with our "friends" the French. President Jacques Chirac says it is not justified, while our Jack Straw will veto any attempt to reduce this amount, which is entirely justified. The state of finance in the EU is desperate.

We may not be required to have a referendum on the EU, as the French vote at the end of May and it is "even money" at present that they will reject it themselves.

Gary Lorriman, North Walk, Harden.

Book mystery

SIR - I wonder if someone can solve the mystery of a book that has been handed down to my son after his grandma passed away last month.

The name of the book is Children of the Bible and appears to have been given to a Fred Tordoff in 1914 as first prize for good attendance at Crossley Hall School in Bradford, which I know is still standing on Thornton Road.

I don't know how my parents happened to get hold of the book, so I hope someone can shed a bit of light on this great mystery.

I can be contacted by e-mail on joolstemps@yahoo.co.uk

Julie Templeton, 23 Manorfield Road, Driffield, East Yorkshire, YO25 5JE.

Helpful ladies

SIR - May I thank most sincerely two delightful young ladies whose names I only know as Hayley and Amy who came to my aid when I was robbed of my purse in Marks & Spencer's store.

Fortunately the thief dropped my purse when chased and these lovely girls insisted on taking me to Samuel's in Broadway where I knew the manager and staff would take care of me until my son-in-law collected me.

All these wonderful people restore your faith after a frightening experience.

Sheila Ham, Lodore Road, Eccleshill.

Justifiable cuts

SIR - GNER have to make a profit and are justified in curtailing the direct services from Bradford to London if not enough passengers are using them (T&A March 25). It would seem probable that the remaining service will also be axed.

Bradford must accept that its economy no longer justifies direct links with London and instead should press for very frequent express rail services to Leeds and Manchester.

With Leeds only ten miles away and Manchester 35 miles it should be possible for journeys to take less than ten and 30 minutes.

This would enable those who work in Leeds and Manchester to live in Bradford and for those who live in Bradford to shop in Leeds and Manchester.

The inflow of people with disposable incomes could cause Bradford to remodel itself as an integrated living and leisure city with a sound economic basis.

John Pashley, Westcliffe Avenue, Baildon.

Hands off Horsfall

SIR - A few nights ago I was sitting reading with my window open. I smiled when I heard cheering and realised there must be a match at Horsfall Playing Fields.

But that sound of happy people cheering on their team will soon be heard no more if the planners get their way and the grounds are sold for housing.

I'm not a sporty person but over my lifetime I have many affectionate memories of Horsfall.

I remember a religious pageant there many years ago. I was only a child and enjoyed all the churches parading with their banners and tableaux.

Later on, when I was a teenager, our Printers Sports were held at the playing fields, and we went along to offer moral support to our apprentices and colleagues.

I can't help but feel we are hard done by in South Bradford. With the recent news of building at the side of Judy Woods, we are losing our 'lungs.'

In an area increasingly given over to noxious industries, we need our green spaces, and our children need their sports fields and fresh air.

Maureen Lenton, Bradford Road, Low Moor.

A mother's rights

SIR - It all started with Michael Howard expressing his 'concern about the abortion laws of this country.'

This was followed by the Catholic Cardinal and then the Archbishop himself, both expressing their 'deep concern on the subject.'

The mother seems to be nowhere in this dialogue; she is, after all, the central figure in all of this, and she has rights also.

Every abortion case is individual and too much interference from church and Government will lead to the bad old days of back street abortion.

Even Mr Howard would surely not want that.

Philomena Hingston, Leaventhorpe Avenue, Fairweather Green.

Good timing!

SIR - I note that "new results for 14-year-olds showed the district to be among the worst performing education authorities in the country." (T&A March 23).

I note with equal interest and a certain mount of trepidation that Mark Pattison, managing director of Education Bradford, is furthering his career and "going national."

Need I say more?

Ian Kenworthy, Heron Close, Steeton.