Letters to the Editor

SIR - Readers who parted with pounds, shillings and pence to buy their tickets for pop concerts, ballroom dances or the cinema, will also recall that the former Odeon building spent a good part of its active life known as the Gaumont Theatre.

What's in a name? In this case, a part of the city's rock'n'roll history: the Beatles, Rolling Stones, Eddie Cochran and Buddy Holly all graced the Bradford Gaumont stage.

And between the 1930s and the onset of the 1960s bingo pandemic, the adjoining Gaumont Ballroom thrived as a dance and rock'n'roll venue with one of the finest sprung floors in Britain.

Even if this grand and familiar sight is now due to go, can its earlier name somehow rise from the rubble?

The Gaumont evokes that site's glory days, whereas for me "the former Odeon building" will always be the stylish white-tiled art deco cinema that was pulled down to make room for a widened Manchester Road.

Martin Celmins, Musgrave Drive, Eccleshill

Food for thought

SIR - It's a good job we have the T&A and it's living up to its name.

"The Telegraph" is obvious and the "Argus" is the mythical Greek Giant with 100 eyes and always has at least 50 of them open - that's why it doesn't miss a thing.

The most important part of any local newspaper is collecting as many facts as soon as possible to print, otherwise it soon becomes history.

The most important issues that effect the local electorate are the running of the council by the elected representatives as they fulfil their obligations to the electorate. After all, they are paid and are our servants not our masters.

If by chance the elected representatives do not perform to the satisfaction of the electorate they must be informed by the same and in a democratic society must listen to the complainant.

With so many complaints in the T&A all the time it seems that some of the elected representatives think they are beyond reproach. Fortunately we in our area are blessed with a very good councillor.

Due to the 200-word limitation I cannot go into my many complaints, but I will shortly if Argus (the Giant) allows me to.

Derek Wright, Westbury Street, Bradford.

Keep on moving

SIR - The Council seem to be having experiments with traffic control in various parts of the city. A recent one which I don't think was planned was at the end of the M606, Staygate.

For several days there were no traffic lights working and for several days there were no traffic jams. It made me wonder whether we would be better without a lot of the traffic lights which seem to be growing daily.

Along with my recent suggestion of no road markings, which seems to have been acted upon in Norway, and no signals on cars, may we add to the list fewer traffic lights.

We might then just see fewer accidents along with less road rage at having to wait great lengths of time at traffic lights.

So will it be Norway which takes up my suggestion again or will Bradford look seriously at these ideas? And no, I am not a member of the Monster Raving Looney Party.

John Stead, Rooley Avenue, Odsal

The blame game

SIR - I admit that there appear to be many unjust, so-called 'Islamic countries' but I would like to say I disagree that Syria is supporting militants anywhere in the world.

In my opinion it is Bush orchestrating the blame game and I wouldn't be surprised if he'd got his friends in Israel to finance an uprising against the government. People seem to do anything for money these days.

I smell a ploy to justify bombing the country but those in power should remember, 'Do unto others as you wish to be done unto you', especially being the devout Christians they are.

Furthermore, I find it amusing that Blair and his cronies go on about fear of terrorism on British soil to frighten us all into voting for them.

Do they not ask themselves why would this latest 'shoe bomber', take risks to consider attempting to get on an American flight, flying to America, risking his own life, when he could have merely planted a bomb in one of the local shopping malls?

It's almost as if the politicians are wishing an act of terrorism on British soil so they can implement further draconian measures.

Saeeda Naz, Elwyn Road, Bradford

Thanks for phone

SIR - May I, through the T&A, thank the person who found my mobile phone in City Hall and handed it in. I'm very grateful.

Mrs M Thornton, Acre Crescent, Bradford

Double standards

SIR - I usually agree with Mike Priestley's comments but I must take issue with him in respect of his support for Ken Livingstone (T&A, February 26) because I think he has missed the point.

Livingstone might not have been strictly anti-Semitic in his insults towards a zestful reporter, but as a fanatical purveyor of everything politically correct he surely needs to be a paragon of virtue in such matters. He would be the first to jump on the back of a protagonist if they had espoused something similar.

The reporter might have been a pain, but Ken's a high-profile controversial figure who fed off the press in his early days to build a political career on notoriety. When he realised the reporter was Jewish he still came out with the concentration camp jibe and that is absolutely deplorable.

The fact that the London Standard's sister paper Daily Mail said nasty things about asylum seekers and cosied up to the Nazis 70 years ago is completely irrelevant.

Should we forever condemn the Republic of Ireland for letting the Nazis refuel during the Second World War? Of course not!

But, I for one will condemn Livingstone until he apologises. After all if we are all supposed to be wonderfully PC we should not be selective about it.

John Masters, Kirk Lane, Yeadon.

Who to believe

SIR - Phil Boase (T&A, February 26) is much taken by Tory plans for the health screening of immigrants.

Before his plaudits become over-enthusiastic, however, might I urge him to consider a leader in the totally impartial medical journal The Lancet.

This editorial was published in direct response to Michael Howard's pronouncements on the subject, and is unequivocally scathing of them.

On ethical grounds alone, it finds the policy "appallingly discriminatory" and goes on to criticise "exaggerations" designed to fuel public fears, and of "shamelessly exploiting" the fears thus created.

So either you back a party politician scrambling for votes in the run-up to an election, or you consider the sober assessment of an authoritative professional organ with no political axes to grind.

If I were a betting man, I know where my money would go.

Peter Wilson, Thornhill Grove, Calverley.

Police state fear

SIR - As a resident of the Bradford area I am very worried that Bradford is fast becoming a police state! Overreaction? Not so!

How can a 79-year-old war veteran be "woken by police in the middle of the night, arrested and put in a police cell for hours after his neighbour accused him of scratching his Jaguar car", (T&A, February 23).

Are any of us safe? I always thought one was "innocent until proved guilty" or does Bradford have its won interpretation of that law?

Mark Pearce, Nab Wood Drive, Shipley.