Letters to the Editor

In recent years there has been an increase in those who use them for recreational purposes and do not seem to be aware of the problems they create, but would soon be in danger of their own lives if used on the roads in the same way.

Many use the Town Hall Square as well, in spite of notices to the contrary, and at the crossing at the top of Cavendish Street, when cars are stopped at the lights, cyclists force their way to the far side, mounting the pavement and brushing aside those who are waiting to cross.

In the past there used to be notices painted on the entrances to the parks which seemed to deter people from cycling.

To those who promote road safety in schools, perhaps pavement safety should be included to draw attention to those who may become offenders later on.

Friday's report on the damage to the war memorial coincided with an attack on the memorial in the evening at Haworth by three youths, two boys and a girl. Flowers removed from the gardens were used to decorate the laurel wreath on the memorial and the area was sprayed with a white substance from an aerosol, which had also been used on the wall tops on the bridge from Ivy Bank Lane. The empty containers were left behind.

MR F SLACK

Station Road, Haworth

SIR - On reading your article in the August 15 edition of the Keighley News, I am amazed that a fellow comrade serving in Iraq has stooped so low as to sell this story to the local and national press.

They have spent £1,500 on telephone calls to each other, so what? There must be numerous couples in similar situations but have not sold their story.

These two adults knew that spending ten hours on the phone would not come cheap but still continued to make calls to each other.

With regards to the incident of the phone being disconnected and the handset used for target practice, what would this achieve?

As for Christopher having to take out a personal loan, how can this be so when he is serving abroad?

What has happened to his salary while serving in Basra?

Salaries are paid direct into bank accounts and unless the TV footage is deceiving there will not have been much to spend his money on.

I applaud phones4u for volunteering a statement and for sticking to its guns, so to speak, and for not relenting under pressure from the tabloids.

I have no sympathy for these two and I think Christopher has let down his regiment, his family, but most of all, himself.

NAME AND ADDRESS

WITHHELD DUE TO

SERVING IN

ARMED FORCES

Note: The Keighley News did not make any payment for the story.

SIR - Re your article on Christopher Kelly and Sueanne Nester and the mobile phone scenario.

I find it amusing that someone who is in Basra representing our country can be so stupid when it comes to call charges on mobile phones.

How on Earth could they have not known that they would be faced with huge call charges while being on the phone for ten hours from England to Basra and vice versa?

To the family of Christopher Kelly, you should have been so proud that Christopher was willing to go to Basra in the aftermath of the war.

Instead of being proud, if I were you I would feel so let down and humiliated by the whole event.

I cannot help but wonder if this whole event has been one cheap publicity stunt by both Christopher and Sueanne in the run-up to their wedding!

If it is and, I assume that this is the case, then shame on you both.

A B

Canberra Drive

Cross Roads

SIR - A number of weeks ago I was saddened to notice about 30 young (10 to 20-year-old) trees which had been felled around an old allotment site in the Worth Valley.

I understand that the owners were within their rights to do this as the trees were not protected by a tree preservation order, were just outside a conservation area and did not exceed the volume requiring a Forestry Commission felling licence (five cubic metres per calender quarter).

In my view, however, the felling was not an example of good practice for several reasons.

First, it was during the height of the bird nesting season (March-July), with potential for young chicks to lose their home or their lives.

Second, work on most species of trees, especially broadleaves, is best done in winter when the leaves are off and the tree is dormant. This is particularly true for pruning (except cherries) and when the tree is required to regenerate (coppice) from its base. In addition the work tends to have a less drastic effect upon the landscape in winter.

Third, and perhaps most importantly, it was apparent to me that whoever had done the work had not been properly trained in felling techniques. They could have injured themselves or others.

I write not to fall out with any landowner but just to ask people to consider the above when thinking about any tree related work on their land. The trees and wildlife cannot speak for themselves, sometimes we have to speak for them

KEITH WILSON

Carlton Street, Haworth

SIR - Keighley-based Bradford district councillor Mallinson has stated that he never once had to call on police when living on council estates. However, since moving to a more salubrious area, he has been a victim of three car crimes.

Poor dear. May I suggest he sells up and move himself and family back to the crime-free zone of the previously council owned, but now privatised, housing estates.

Councillor Mallinson cites the 60 hours he often works. Obviously there aren't many people in Keighley who work such long hours.

I hope his commitment and long hours do not have adverse effects on him or his family.

Though, while fully empathising with him when he goes on and on about the hard work he undertakes for Keighley, try as I might, I haven't noticed that his vast contribution to the well-being of Keighley has had positive or discernable affect on the lifestyle of Keighley tax payers.

Yes, he was responsible for having double yellow lines painted on roads, causing massive problems to a local charity, but many consider such an idea to be a liability.

Compassion for the awe-inspiring councillor should be offered nevertheless. That others find fault with him, especially when they don't know him personally, is something I fully appreciate.

I have suffered the same bigotry, a situation that annoys my wife and family. For instance, the Conservatives accuse me of being a Socialist, the Socialists believe I'm a Communist and the Liberals believe in Europe.

After reading ClIr Mallinson's letter regarding his sterling efforts for Keighley, I had thought of nominating the gentleman as "Keighley Personality of the Year."

Obviously, the highly paid party politician would be too busy on other projects to accept the accolade.

My sympathy to Cllr Mallinson, I do believe in his commitment.

DAVID SAMUELS

Station Road, Oxenhope

Sir - Flooded? Ring the council. Burgled? Call the police. Simple. Too simple to be realistic.

As our climate changes and the rainfall becomes more erratic, there will be tropical downpours sometimes.

That means the drains must be cleared whenever they get blocked, mostly after autumn leaf-fall, not just once a year in any month to make a rota.

That costs more. It also means the drains must be replaced by larger, tropical-style channels, feeding into a dredged River Worth, and maybe a holding reservoir.

We had better have contingency plans, but it will cost a fortune. The global warming is just not sustainable.

It's the same for crime. If we increased the police, courts and prisons to deal with all the criminals in Keighley, how could the rest of us afford to pay the bill?

We create more crime by an ideology of consumerism and selfishness, which is just not affordable.

It is dinosaur economics to think that perpetual business growth can continue and can pay for all these bad side effects.

MICHAEL YAFFEY

Keighley Green Party

Sir - In answer to Cllr Mallinson, I am not at all convinced that moving the police headquarters to the edge of town will do anything to boost the confidence of the people of Keighley and give us the "service we deserve", especially after spending who knows what amount refurbishing the present location.

While I seek not to belittle Cllr Mallinson's commitment to Keighley, one wonders how, during the recent rainfall, the streets have been awash, with the bus station flooded, where but for the rain the hanging baskets around town would have expired for lack of water.

Finally, I do agree with Cllr Mallinson, no other councillors have shown the same commitment, and that I assume is why we are in the mess we're in.

DENIS BRIGGS

Bankfield Road

Keighley

Sir - The sun of the Muslim political domination of Spain finally set in 1492.

That year opened two gates at once. With the discovery of America by Columbus, the Christian domination of the world marched in with majestic glory through one gate. Out of the other departed all the past glories of Islam, with heads hung low, each aching step inflicting unbearable agony.

America was and has been central to the great advance made by the modern world. In his 1946 Iron Curtain speech, Churchill said: "The US stands at this time at the pinnacle of world power. It is a solemn moment for the American democracy. For with primacy in power is also joined an awe-inspiring accountability for the future".

These words are true today as they were over 50 years ago. With the neo-Conservatives placed firmly at the helm, the US holds the key to world peace and stability.

Politicians of the world cannot return to absolute justice because the economy rules politics all over the world. Things are changing, new alliances are in the offing -- all for the fear of economic factors; the dictation term is only economic.

Our economies follow a boom and bust cycle.

Every time economies reach the final stage of collapse and crisis, governments frantically make efforts to enlarge their foreign markets. A race ensues which creates bitter jealousies.

Erstwhile friends belonging to the same political group are no longer trustworthy friends because politics is immoral and the interest of the nation (personal interest) is supreme.

So almost all other economies also search for foreign markets at the same time because a global financial crisis develops.

What follows is a mad race for the capture of foreign markets. If foreign markets have been impoverished so much that they cannot help sustain our economies, then the crisis will be doubly serious. The situation may get out of hand sooner than feared.

Francis Bacon was right when he said: "Upon the breaking and shivering of a great state and empire, you may be sure to have wars".

I hope he was wrong when he said: "There is in human nature more of the fool than of the wise".

Self-interest and selective justice have poisoned international relations, disseminating far and wide the seeds of prejudice and error.

Duplicity and diplomacy are inextricably rooted in the soil of modern politics. The only means to attain world peace and usher in a new era is to return to godly attributes such as equity, integrity and absolute justice which, without reference to any religion, are universally acceptable to humankind at large as noble traditions, ethical standards and moral values.

Mujeeb Rahman

Ahmadiyya Muslim

Association

SIR - Is it me? Am I imagining it? It seems there are no birds this year.

I put food out for them, in hanging feeders. But they don't come.

There are no birds. Can anyone tell me why?

JEAN SWIFT (MRS)

Exley Grove, Keighley