SIR - Popular folklore tells us that there is a Roman road in Skipton, on Rombald's Moor; the only trouble is that no-one has actually found it.

History established there was once a toll road that traversed the moor and joined Shortbank Road and plenty of traces remain of that, though the story goes that much of it was washed down along with the Roman road into the town during the most recent floods in 1979 and 1981.

The Old Toll House still exists on the left hand side of Shortbank Road just below the junction with Greatwood Avenue.

The problem is that folklore is part fact and part supposition and it doesn't necessarily take account of logic or known historical fact; for instance, that Roman roads were not always straight. Though for the most part roads were laid out in straight lines between sighting landmarks, Roman engineers were not fools; if there was a natural obstacle in the way the road deviated to go around it.

Their roads were highways, raised up on a cambered bank of material dug from roadside ditches. Their three layers comprised a bottom layer of large stones covered by a second layer of smaller stones and a final layer of gravel or smaller stones, each layer varying in depth between two and 12 inches. In short they were built to last; that is until now!

Only recently exposed by the relentless tyres of off road trials bikes and just as quickly being dislodged by them and washed away by subsequent rain storms, this little part of Skipton's ancient history is fast disappearing into oblivion before it has even been recognised.

Should we allow this to happen?

P Boone

Shortbank Road, Skipton.

SIR - You do have some amusing news items! I like the one this week (Craven Herald August 15) about the 19-year old woman fined for speeding.

If she left any of the roundabouts on the Keighley road at, say, 25mph and, assuming she was booked for speeding as soon as she reached 47mph, a rough calculation shows that, for the average saloon car, her foot was on the throttle pedal for between five and six seconds during which time she would have travelled at least 65 yards and possibly as much as 100 yards.

She pleads that she put her foot on the wrong pedal and it took five to six seconds to react to that mistake?

With such pitifully slow reactions she really should not be driving at all.

It is also very thought provoking that she seemingly intended to apply the brake upon leaving the roundabout.

Well, when she has her next driving lesson she should discuss with her instructor her several problems. What did you say? She has passed her test? I don't believe it!

I am pleased to see that the magistrate was not taken in either.

T Hall,

Haw Park, Embsay.

SIR - Even were this letter to be printed, I doubt if it will achieve anything useful because I have to admit to anger and frustration on the massive subject of communications.

It seems clear that since Man and Woman cohabited, they have needed to communicate either in the belief it is mutually beneficial, or, far more likely, trying to gain some advantage.

I wouldn't pretend to try to unscramble this fundamental situation, but I am seriously bothered because overwhelmingly it seems clear communication has developed into being an unscrupulously wielded lever by which to gain domination, and, in the process, powerful financial domination.

I am considering the flood of radio and TV messages. While superficially trying to give the impression it is all being done to please the recipient, in fact it is obviously a means of manipulation - and I'm not merely referring to evident advertising.

It would be bad enough were this to be all the problem, but there is a second aspect to communication - the rejection of the cardinal principle of always trying to get the most readily accepted message by ensuring its clarity. For example, we have TV weather forecasters gabbling at speed, totally refusing to insert a pause at the end of sentences, let alone, paragraphs.

News broadcasters speak too fast - their pronunciation demands time in which to decipher.

Then, if they wish to communicate with I who live in England must they employ those whose broad diction is irrefutably foreign? Broad Scottish or Irish may be totally acceptable in Glasgow or Dublin, but I find it difficult, thereby making their intentional communication into nonsense. It goes without saying they may themselves resent the domination of English, and I must concede.

Which is why, quite seriously, I take refuge in the Craven Herald's printed words, which, in my own time and free from psychological hidden insidious influence, I may accept or reject.

In my view, everyone who turns on their radio or television immediately comes under hidden (and evilly concealed) attack by the manipulator. I ask the rhetorical question of "what sort of people have we become" both to accept this state of affairs and passively to suffer it?

Millions of currency in every country is poured into the bending of minds. Is there no action we may take to safeguard them?

It is impossible to opt for chosen isolation as a hermit and merely "switch off"; neither should we. But can we not be more free and uninfluenced?

Donald Wilcox,

Garrs End Lane, Grassington.

SIR - Coun Crawford gave the Craven Herald readers a valuable insight into "hidden Europe" last week by informing us of the nature of the devious diktats from Whitehall concerning Craven council's required Euro preparations and the expected "hidden costs".

We should expect the same furtive tactics to be employed by Whitehall with regard to the implementation of Regional Government because, far from being the initiative of our very own erudite Deputy Prime Minister (as he would have us believe), Regional Government emanates from the EU and hence the same modus operandi will apply

Successive governments have continued to employ a strategy of public deception for the furtherance of the EU since its conception. It was the late Professor Arnold Toynbee the celebrated intellectual, left winger, and international socialist who more than anyone else shaped the Government's secretive approach to EU integration: ".... we are at present working discreetly, but with all our might, to wrest this mysterious political force called sovereignty out of the clutches of the local national states of our world. And all the time we are denying with our lips what we are doing with our hands...."

Boy! Have we Craven residents a fight on our hands when up against deceit of such Machiavellian proportions! Nevertheless, Coun Crawford has made a spirited step in the right direction and let's hope that more councillors fulfill their duty to the electorate, not the executive by keeping us informed of the unscrupulous antics of Whitehall.

Those concerned about the implementation of a regional assembly should check out www.regionalassemblies.co.uk to see what other like-minded people are doing in England and to inform what is really going on behind our backs. You may even discover that those who you thought were the good guys are really the bad guys!

AJA Smith

Colne Road, Glusburn

SIR - Once again, thanks to the kindness of local people and this summer's fantastic weather, children from the Chernobyl disaster zone have enjoyed their recuperative holiday.

Nothing has been too much trouble as villages, church halls, local firms and societies have provided fun and interest.

Thanks to Skipton Lions for braving sweltering heat to take the children to Camelot, to Clapham village for an entertaining day out, to St Stephen's brownie pack for beautiful shoe boxes of gifts, to Whittaker's Chocolates for ruining our figures, to Classic Cars for a step back in time, to Rolls-Royce for a day at Harewood and to Skipton Homeloan Management for our toy shopping expedition.

Of course all this is only possible because of the generosity of our host families who opened their houses and hearts to our visitors and made this year a great success. To all who helped in any way, thank you.

Anne Hodgson,

Co-ordinator,

Craven Chernobyl Children's Project.

SIR - In July we received a letter and a blue bag from Craven District Council. The letter said we should put all our waste paper in the bag, place the bag where we leave our wheelie bin for refuse collection and the bags would be collected by Yorwaste for recycling.

I am 100 per cent behind recycling. We should do all we can because it helps the environment by not filling the landfill sites as quickly and some benefit must be gained from any monies generated from the sale.

Our first day of collection for Skipton East (Keighley Road) came and at the given time I proudly put my bag full of paper as directed on top of my wheelie bin but at 5pm my efforts had been in vain and the bag was still there.

I rang the helpline but the young lady could not help, so I put my waste paper back under cover - although some said that they might as well just dump it in the wheelie bin as before.

In the morning I rang Craven District Council and asked to speak someone about waste paper collection to be told it was the responsibility of Yorwaste. But when I pointed out that the letter had Craven District Council on the top I was put through to the head of operational services, Mr Robinson.

I explained the situation and Mr Robinson said he would speak to Yorwaste and ask them to come back to me (no-one has up to time of writing).

In the meantime a lady happened to look through the window and saw the collection vehicle outside her front door on the designated day. She spoke to the men who said they were going up the front street, yet all the wheelie bins are at the rear.

Where the houses are on streets such as Keighley Road, Middletown, Newtown etc, the situation needs clarifying.

My dilemma now is should I leave the bag at the front and the men are told to go round the back. People need instructions before the next collection.

I passed on the information why our bags were not collected to Craven District Council so I live in hope that before the next collection the paper chase will be solved.

S Phillips,

Keighley Road, Skipton.

SIR - Thank you for the kind remarks about the flowers in Ingleton (Craven Herald August 8).

I would point out that every shrub, flower and bulb in the village is looked after by volunteers with not a shred of help from either the district council or the county council, unlike some places in North Yorkshire.

Perhaps your readers should visit Ingleton in the not too distant future if they are interested in seeing the flowers. Our volunteers are getting older and we will not be around for ever!

Keith Bradshaw,

Dale Bank, Ingleton.

SIR - As one poet to another I entreat Caroline Whitaker to continue putting pen to paper in an attempt to restore and save the long-established drying rights of Skipton's terraced streets (hope that was a correct use of the apostrophe, Mr editor).

Having been born and brought up in this beautiful area, I realise I do not have sole rights to countryside appreciation (Letters August 15) but I sometimes wish I had.

I remember one instance when a drying ground, older than those on the communal thoroughfares in Skipton, was built upon. This obviously could not occur in this case but in view of the recent power cuts in the USA and dire prophecies of the same in this country, we may all need to hang out our washing on the Thornton Street line.

Just where do you dry your unmentionables, Mr Painter?

Wendy Milner,

Church Street, Gargrave.

SIR - I have had only favourable comments from people who have read John Sheard's article in last week's Craven Herald (August 15). But they may not realise the slight inaccuracy in describing the mental illness with which I have lived for some 18 years.

Manic depression is nowadays usually called bipolar disorder. Mixed affective state disorder is a more unusual kind of bipolar disorder where the two states occur almost simultaneously - sometimes I go 'up' and 'down' in a day or even an hour.

There is also rapid cycling bipolar disorder, in which, as the name implies, the mood changes more quickly (maybe weekly or monthly) than the more common cycle of six months or so.

The overall condition bipolar disorder is thought to affect approximately one person in 100, so it's more common than you think. In its mildest form, people used to be called moody or temperamental and when it is very severe it can totally disrupt the lives of sufferers and carers alike.

But the good news is it can be treated by conventional and/or alternative therapies and a great deal has been written about it.

For more information contact Peter Van Der Gucht, co-ordinator of Airedale MDF on 01535 293701or myself on 01729 851376.

Loretta Gooch

Midland Terrace, Hellifield.