Cultural trip that can be so helpful

SIR - I have not lived in Bradford for nearly ten years now but look forward to the day I will return to the city I love most. However there are things I read about Bradford that sadden me greatly, particularly the tensions between various sections of the community.

I loved the cosmopolitan makeup of Bradford and the rich history of social integration which has made ita great city of social inclusion.

However doesn't Saeeda Naz's letter sum up the social division and suspicion that exist today? I was horrified to read of the abuse she endured while walking through her neighbourhood. I was horrified to hear of the riots and the other civil unrest in Bradford.

When working in Bradford I spent some time working on the Transcultural psychiatric unit at Lynfield Mount hospital and learned a great deal about Indian and Pakistani cultures. It spurred me on to find out more. I went on a working trip to India organised by Bradford Council and learned so much about other cultures.

I wonder if the Council could arrange similar trips again? They may help to show tolerance and understanding of others and dispel myths and preconceptions that seem to have developed within the community.

A C Clark, Porters Avenue, Dagenham, Essex.

Reverse racism

SIR - With reference to the letter from Saeeda Naz (T&A, June 18), I entirely agree that we should seek to liberate Britain from 'racist scum'. Recently, two nieces of mine were walking through the Manningham area when they were stopped by a car containing four Asian males, who shouted racist expletives at them before telling them to 'get out of their area'.

May I remind your correspondents that racism is not something that is perpetrated solely by whites, it is in fact discrimination based on skin colour, and that includes racism aimed at whites.

G Stevens, White Abbey Road, Bradford.

Good for us...

SIR - Shame on Mr Redgrave (Letters, July 13). How could he distrust our leaders who are struggling with the might of the Brussels bureaucracy in order that the peasants of the far-flung reaches of "Europe" shall be able to reap the benefits of the hard work and thrift of United Kingdom workers?

What matters is that the right to be adjudged innocent until proven guilty is to be superseded by European Corpus Juris, which means that one can be thrown in jail and held until an examining magistrate decides to hold a trial.

Why should the writ of Habeus Corpus (from Magna Carta) no longer hold good? The good burghers in Brussels know far better than our judges and lawyers, their systems are newer and therefore better than crusty old ones with roots in the Middle Ages.

How can Mr Redgrave impune the motives of the nice Mr Blair, who does not need 30 pieces of silver. His salary and pension are far better protected than those of most of Her Majesty's subjects.

No, Mr Redgrave, entry into the Euro will be good for us. We won't need to hold elections, political parties won't badger us to waste time going to the polls. Those nice people in Brussels will do all our thinking for us. All we need to do is to keep earning high wages to pay the exorbitantly high taxes needed to maintain the system.

Nick Leach, Rose Mount, Bolton Road, Bradford 2.

Give us our share

SIR - Re the underground street found below the Royal Arcade in Keighley. Are the individuals on Bradford Council who wish to block any future chance of opening to the public this unique establishment, so creating a chance-of-a-lifetime hands-on experience, the same individuals who are willing to splash out several thousands a year on ephemeral entertainment with clowns, balloons and stiltwalkers etc?

The same can also be applied to the Carnegie Library. They seem to be of the opinion that like children they can say of Keighley people "give 'em a penny lolly and they won't ask for a ninety nine".

After all the thousands of pounds I and the other residents have poured into Bradford's coffers, I'd like councillors to start paying back in a more permanent way, like they do in and around Bradford.

They are literally rebuilding Bradford while we are being left to rot.

There are several underground museums and vaults - in Glasgow, London and York to name just three in this country, and don't forget Paris and Seattle where they are promoted in a big way.

So let's see some of the readies in Keighley for a change.

Lorraine Houldsworth, Canberra Drive, Crossroads, Keighley.