Letters to the Editor

My son has learnt a lot about life recently on our walks, as the area now attracts a different kind of visitor.

The new breed is known as a mindless thug and only comes out at night. They steal cars, then burn them out on the moors, then they inject themselves with drugs and leave their dirty needles on the ground.

Then they have sex, leaving their used, multi-coloured condoms for everyone to see. They sometimes clean their cars out too, as the contents of the ashtray are just thrown to the ground, what a great life they have.

I would just like to say thank you to these people on behalf of my son. He now knows every make of condom and colour, and the importance of safe sex. He knows it is wrong to steal other peoples cars and set them alight, and after counting eight used needles, he knows the vile truth about drugs and the misery they cause to all.

If the toilets were left open, they would be very useful to ordinary, everyday people who enjoy our moorlands, but sadly, there will always be the mindless minority who insist on treating the area like its their own personal dumping ground.

LAURA DARNBROUGH

Oakbank Lane, Oakworth

SIR - So it's goodbye to McDonald's in Cavendish Street then!

I for one shall miss the overflowing bins and the wrappers/cups laying squashed upon the floor. I shall also miss the delightful smell which emanates from the building.

I was, however, comforted to find large paper cartons making their way (migrating?) up Lawkholme Lane, perhaps trying to meet up with their town centre counterparts to mate.

I shan't be visiting the Hard Ings restaurant , but am sure that the increased custom and traffic have been taken into account by the management. The bizarre road system around Almar is a credit to McDonald's and can at best be described as an accident waiting to happen.

As McDonald's makes it's money not from the selling of food, but by the rental it charges it's franchisees, are we going to eventually see the Hard Ings bistro move a bit further out of Keighley?

That would be a shame - wouldn't it? Have you read 'Fast Food Nation?'

Antony Silson

Skipton Road, Keighley

SIR - Once again this weekend we have seen the politicians in the guise of Tony Blair and Claire Short urging the sportsmen to pull the politician's chestnuts out of the fire - the World Cricket Cup matches in Zimbabwe.

At least the games might help the England side gain respect - although having helped to coach many of the cricketers in Zimbabwe as schoolboys, I have no doubt the Heath Streakes men will give them a run for their money.

My first sentence reveals how the politicians of this country these days and indeed, for the last three or four generations have been very short on bottle leaving the sportsmen and women and people like me and my friends to carry the can for their mistakes.

They had a sporting boycott of South Africa, which did not make the slightest bit of difference to the Aficana politicians' outlook.

A more serious boycott was tried with Rhodesia, when the R$ rose from 10 shillings at metrication to 60 pence in 1968.

Currently, before Mr Blair's sanctions on Uncle Robert and his cronies, my life's work and savings had devalued one thousand times and many of my friends and I have lost their children, farms and their life's work.

Meanwhile the Mugabeites are laughing all the way to the bank as they flog off the commandeered crops.

Yet all this could have been avoided if the politicians in the UK had any bottle.

A few companies of Marines or Para's injected at the right time (1965 and later, 1980) would have solved the problem, more than likely without any blood shed at all.

We are now seeing war talk in connection with Iraq (note the difference in attitude to North Korea, America has had their fingers burnt there before).

That problem could have been settled at the end of the Gulf War by the elimination of the culprits, or at least to have put them on trial. But there is this deep-seated reluctance, no matter how bad they are for modern politicians/leaders to order the demise of their opposite numbers, mainly I suspect for the feeling that, 'There but for the grace of God go I'.

Geoffrey Mace

Canal Road, Riddlesden

SIR - It has been said that those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad.

The threatened war with Iraq certainly has an element of madness about it.

Government ministers appear to be in a state of denial about the present suffering of the people of Iraq after 10 years of war and sanctions. They talk without any sense of what in reality the effects of any bombing will mean upon the people.

Evidence from Kosovo, Afghanistan, Sudan, Ethiopia when the reasons given for bombing were humanitarian, shows that there are no such things as clean, smart bombs.

All bombs kill and maim, and instill fear and terror into the population as a whole.

Whether at individual, community, national or international level, violence breeds violence. In a region where violence is endemic, to escalate that violence, whether by a state or group, is unbelievably dangerous.

Use of so-called conventional bombs could so easily lead to the use of nuclear weapons. The effects of such weapons cannot be confined within the state boundaries. Chernobyl has shown us how radiation spreads and how long the effects last. Any conflagration in the Middle East would be felt worldwide.

The hatred and mistrust which is so evident in the whole of the region will be intensified, resulting in many more of those so-called terrorist attacks of which our Government is warning us all.

Peace cannot be bought at such a price. At this time of the year it is easy to be sentimental about peace.

However, if real peace is to be brought to the Middle East non-violent means must be used. Using the expertise and resources of the international community through the United Nations is the only way forward.

It will certainly mean long, hard and persistent negotiations involving the entire region. There will be failures and crises, but surely the experience from Northern Ireland and the peace process there is worth remembering as a case in point.

Martin Luther-King once remarked "We must take the risks of peace upon ourselves and not impose the risks of war on others". This is as true today as any time.

As we repeat the well-known Christmas hymns - let us indeed remember the need for goodwill to all people But let us all remember the need to work for peace with justice for all.

SYLVIA BOYES

Wimbourne Drive, Keighley

SIR - The week before Christmas the Friends of Airedale Hospital held their annual raffle and tombola resulting in the final sum of £3,964.05.

We would like to thank everyone who has given prizes for both these events and also the printers who donated the tickets; all much appreciated.

Many thanks too to Henry, the organiser of the tombola, for his efforts, and our very grateful thanks to Maureen, who organised the raffle, for her splendid efforts in obtaining such excellent prizes and to all those who have given time and effort to make this event such a worthwhile success.

Lists of prizewinners are posted around the hospital.

M Moorhouse

Chairman

SIR - I read with interest about the closure of the toilets at Penistone Hill.

But it's not just there that Bradford Council has closed down the toilets.

They have closed them in Bingley town centre as well.

No toilets either in the railway station, would you believe that the toilets on the (ultra modern) train back home was out of order. Do the powers that be expect us to wear nappies?!

STEPHEN SIMPSON

High Street, Steeton

SIR - The drivel emanating from Bradford Council regarding the Penistone Hill toilets deserves a good flush - if they ever reopen.

Although they have been closed since the foot and mouth outbreak, a council official states "the level of use does not justify such provision".

A mile away in Haworth, the council's excellent tourist information office directs people to Bront Waterfalls and Top Withens. When they need relief they face the humiliation of finding a spot outside the toilets.

There was a big effort in the 19th century to eradicate open sewers. The public will not tolerate their return.

Public facilities cost money. So reopen these toilets and don't squander cash on daft schemes like the culture capital bid.

T ATKINS

Lynton Drive, Keighley

SIR - I would like to thank the children and staff of St Anne's Catholic School for the lovely Christmas Nativity which they have made.

It is such a good idea to put it in the Keighley Market place where it cannot be vandalised and a joy to see when you have been Christmas shopping. I think the figures look so life like with the expressions on their faces.

I am sure all Keighley people will say you all deserve a big thank you for the joy and pleasure it has brought us all.

A very happy New Year to everyone.

I PEARCE

Kenya Mount, West Lane

SIR - We are trying to trace Rita and Alwyne King who live in Keighley.

We met on holiday a few years ago and corresponded at Christmas.

Last year, unfortunately, we lost their address and are unable to contact them. We have received a card from them and would love to return one but are unable to.

Would you or anyone who knows them please let us have their address on 01752 225129

JANET AND EDDIE

GARDINER

Plymouth

SIR - Angela Houldsworth's letter "A dirty joke" is sadly only the tip of the iceberg around Long Lee/Thwaites Brow.

If you walk around the area you will find most pavements strewn with both dog dirt and litter in varying quantities, despite the fact that litter bins are provided at many points.

The "playground" on Thwaites Brow Road, which was fought for by the village society of the day, appears now to be a refuse tip and drinking area with communal toilet.

Cars are parked liberally on the roads and pavements (even though most people have either drives or designated parking areas) making both walking and driving a hazardous process, particularly after 7pm.

Cherry Tree Rise is a serious accident waiting to happen, with cars parked on both blind bends towards Long Lee Lane.

Between 3 and 3.30pm school days, and weekends when football is in progress, both sides of the road are literally "jampacked," a problem barely alleviated by the fact that parking areas have been designated on what was the bus terminus.

Prior to demolition commencing, the old first school site was an absolute disgrace and dispite the best efforts of some residents remained an embarrassing eyesore.

Attention now seems to be concerntrating on the new primary school (old Swire Smith) where, after replacing vandalised parts of the wooden perimeter fencing at regular intervals over the last year or so, a new metal fence is now in the process of being erected. At what cost I hate to think.

Signs erected in the school field stating No Trespassers No Dogs are totally ignored by old and young alike.

I have actually witnessed an elderly gent waiting halfway down the field while his dog urinated on the pole of one sign.

It will not be long before the field becomes another environmental health risk and eyesore where children are expected to play during school terms.

Angela points out some practical solutions which may help, but unless people take responsibility for their own families' and pets' actions the problems will only increase.

Community pride seems to be something of the past as does picking up a piece of litter that you didn't drop, not damaging property that doesn't belong to you or collecting your dog's dirt.

We seem to be so busy concentrating on oursleves we ignore what impact our actions are having on other people and seem unable (unless we are told) to perceive the problems we are causing.

Long Lee and Thwaites Brow have always been places that estate agents have described as "desirable areas" but for how long?

BERNARD THOMPSON

Dale View Grove,

Long Lee