SIR - The heads of Bradford's University and College have enriched the consultants by £20,000 (T&A April 14) in an attempt to find a bright new name for the merged institution they are proposing.

The Titanic College of West Yorkshire strikes me as an apt title because this merged institution is headed nowhere but down.

It is well-known that school-leavers in the district are distinctly unenthusiastic about enrolling in a new institution which is unclear about its identity or how it will reconcile the very different roles of both institutions. The impetus is coming from central government which believes it can save a lot of money by offering cheaper and faster degrees on the same city-centre site.

Why the heads of both institutions have been talked into floating this scheme is something best known to themselves. As more comes out about the short-term thinking behind the merged institution, I have shelved any thoughts I may have had about completing a degree at my local university.

Most mergers and takeovers destroy value and cause instability. If this one goes ahead, it will be a milestone in the decline of the city of Bradford.

Of course, amidst it all, the silence of the city's MPs and most of its councillors is deafening.

Paul T Riley, Moore Avenue, Wibsey.

SIR - With the completion of the Bingley "relief road" I suspect that many of us are hoping that the old A650 from Crossflatts to Cottingley can now be freed up for safe use by cyclists and pedestrians.

But this won't happen unless the Council acts to improve the old road by marking off cycle lanes and widening the pavement along certain sections. If these improvements aren't made, then the proposed family fun day on July 26, taking place on the empty new road, will be the last time anybody walks or runs between these places in safety for a very long time!

Quentin Deakin, chairman, Shipley Green Party, Newark Road, Crossflatts, Bingley.

SIR - I was delighted to see that the Countryside Agency can get things right even when Bradford Council cannot ( T&A, April 17). When will our developers realise that in transport and access terms Bradford is a dead end, the end of the line.

We recently failed in our bid to become the Capital of Culture not because we don't have the culture or the ideas but because the city is inaccessible. Building more roads is not the answer - more roads equals more traffic, more congestion.

The solution to Bradford's problems has got to be the development of the railways, particularly the cross-Bradford link. This will ease the road congestion and encourage people to come to Bradford.

It doesn't matter how grand the Broadway and other developments are. They will flop, like so many other shopping projects in Bradford, unless we reopen these disused railway lines and connect the two stations.

Remember what Bill Bryson said about Bradford? Our role is to make everywhere else look good by comparison! Bradford has much to offer but it will continually fail unless we are the centre of an excellent rail network.

Dr Chris Butler, Dallam Avenue, Shipley

SIR - Please excuse me writing out of the blue, but I am helping with an appeal for VSO that I feel might be an exciting adventure for you.

International development agency VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas) is offering a thrilling and extraordinary trekking challenge in Vietnam. VSO need people to raise vital money for their work overseas. Without this they would be unable to continue sending volunteers to some of the world's poorest communities to work with them to build a better future for themselves.

Funds raised from the Vietnam trek will go directly to Vietnam, by enabling VSO volunteers to improve the quality of education and health care, and promoting sustainable use of natural resources.

This amazing ten-day trek in Vietnam from January 29 - February 8, 2004 will incorporate waterfalls, elephant rides, stunning rainforest scenery and the Yokdon National Park, one of Vietnam's largest nature reserves.

Places are limited so call the VSO Events Hotline 020 8780 7289 today or e-mail HYPERLINK "mailto:lisa.russell@vso.org.uk" lisa.russell@vso.org.uk for further information.

I'm supporting the work of VSO because I believe they make a difference. I hope this adventure might make a positive difference in your life too.

Dame Judi Dench, on behalf of Voluntary Service Overseas

SIR - Further to David Wilson's letter of April 21. With local elections coming up shortly, where does one place one's cross in order to address matters?

We have staff making excuses and blaming tools of trade. We have mismanagement and bad management - which have cost taxpayers thousands and thousands of pounds. We are creating the cradle for evil instead of standing up and being counted.

Events nationally and internationally prove this also.

Where do we put our cross?

S Walsh, Church Street, Bingley.

SIR - I would like to commend your newspaper for covering the local initiative to raise awareness of the importance of high blood pressure by offering free blood pressure checks.

High blood pressure is serious. The thousands of people each year who suffer a stroke or heart attack as a result of high blood pressure will testify to that. But the good news is that it can be treated and sometimes prevented.

At the Blood Pressure Association we are dedicated to improving the lives of people with high blood pressure and helping those who have a healthy blood pressure keep it that way.

If your readers missed the opportunity to get their blood pressure checked they have a second chance during our third annual blood pressure testing week, which runs from September 15-21.

High blood pressure is important and ignoring it could be fatal.

Readers who would like more information about high blood pressure or our national blood pressure testing week can contact the BPA at the address below or see our web site www.bpassoc.org.uk.

Professor Graham MacGregor, chairman of the Blood Pressure Association and Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, Cranmere Terrace, London, SW17.

SIR - I am a former resident of Keighley, some 50 years ago. I recently paid a nostalgic visit and was amazed at the changes that had taken place.

Some of the places I had worked at - Claphams down Market Street, Dean Smith and Grace's, and the old railway goods yard at the bottom of Cavendish Street, all gone.

I was happy to see that most of the old pubs are still there, and it's many a game of "doms" I have played in them.

Some of the changes were, I suppose, for the best but, I couldn't help feeling that Keighley had lost much of its character in the process.

Tom Lowry (late of Park Lane), Greenacres Park, Meysey Hampton, Cirencester, Gloucestershire

SIR - About a fortnight ago I had the misfortune to lose my handbag and contents in Bradford city centre. Thinking I had lost it for good I was dismayed.

Imagine my delight when the manager from W H Smith's phoned to say someone had handed my bag and contents in.

Please may I say to this very kind person a very big thank you. You have restored my faith.

Mrs J D Martin, Parsonage Road, Laisterdyke.

SIR - I should like to express my appreciation to the Parks Department for the delightful floral display in Myrtle Park, Bingley. This, together with the attractive flower beds around the Arts Centre, is a joy to behold and deserves our thanks.

Mrs M Adey, Southlands Avenue, Bingley.

SIR - I am a cinema historian and am at present putting together a book on the cinemas of Shipley and the one at Baildon. I know what they were but wondered if any of your readers have memories of going and would like to write and tell me about it.

I would also be grateful for any pictures or old programmes I could borrow. Of course I would return them after I had them copied.

This will be the fourth book I have written about cinemas in West Yorkshire, the others being the Cinemas of Keighley, Halifax, Huddersfield and Wharfedale.

Stuart Smith, Mercia Cinema Society, 100 Wickfield Road, Hackenthorpe, Sheffield, S12 4TT.