Classic waffle is reponse to delay

We immediately wrote to the director of Railtrack North West seeking an explanation for such a long delay and an assurance that a robust local arrangement would be put in place to solve any such future problems rapidly.

Sadly the reply was classic "waffle" from the public relations department rather than a meaningful response from an operating section.

They said a supervisor was on site within 25 minutes, but failed to give any explanation as to why the train was still at Blea Moor five hours later; passengers were only able to continue their journey after the train went back to Garsdale then went "wrong line" through the problem area.

The last sentence from the letter said "there is a local procedure in place that allows us to deal with problems as quickly as possible". Unfortunately this would appear to translate into "you will be stranded for five hours" judging by the speed of problem solving on July 27.

The Friends of the Settle-Carlisle line will continue to press for better response times to faults, as a delay of five hours is unacceptable by any standards.

Pete Shaw,

Vice-president,

Friends of Settle-Carlisle line,

Temple Rhydding Drive, Baildon

SIR - I read with interest yet again (Craven Diary August 23) more concerns over the way we sell and maintain our town.

For several years I have despaired over the state of our roundabouts, flower beds and public areas (such as they are).

There is nothing to encourage anyone, resident, visitor or business, to spend more than a couple of hours let alone a lifetime in Skipton.

Ilkley and Harrogate have good, reasonably priced parking, wonderful flower beds, beautiful safe parks and sitting areas, good shopping facilities in a peaceful, hassle-free atmosphere.

Closer to home, for regular weekly visits is Keighley. A few minutes' drive down the bypass (or go by bus) and you are welcomed by a roundabout full of lovely shrubs to be followed by another roundabout, and two large traffic islands at Cliffe Castle which are a pleasure to behold.

Each is full of beautiful flowers, sponsored by various local businesses, their wares displayed on a small tasteful sign. Each one has a variety of different colours and designs. The grass is manicured to a rich velvet.

Further on, by the Catholic school, two more sponsored islands at present are in wonderful shades of yellows and golds.

Next outside the college more gardens, laid out in bright, tasteful colours. These displays are renewed three or four times a year.

Add to this the avenue of pink blossom trees in spring at Cliffe Castle and the Memorial Square (no pruning massacre here as on Brougham Street), shoals of daffodils and crocuses - no wonder we feel welcome.

We park in a tree lined area for the massive sum of 20p per hour, 10 yards into the pedestrian area, Airedale Shopping Centre and covered market. All this without being jostled by coach visitors looking for the nearest charity shop.

Returning to Skipton, we approach a sign announcing the Gateway to the Dales; a dozen daffodils grace this area in spring, the rest of the year it is unkept grass.

Then to the bypass roundabout, to the Lakes - empty. So on to Snaygill roundabout, the perfect opportunity to sell Skipton - a few colourless shrubs in a forest of thistles and dozens of happy rabbits.

Apart from Holy Trinity churchyard, which is always nice, there is nowhere in Skipton worth mentioning.

Last year we noticed a Skipton cycle shop had sponsored a display at Keighley; perhaps he had got the same cold shoulder from the council as the Craven Herald did when it offered to sponsor a display in Caroline Square. Their cash was welcome but a small sign with their name on was not allowed.

In Skipton car parking charges are a massive 60 pence per hour. The car parks are overflowing with day workers and visitors. We have no pedestrian areas which make for pleasant, safe shopping. To shop in Skipton is a battle from beginning to end.

Take a trip to Keighley to see how it should be done - multi-storey car park in the town centre, covered bus station, covered shopping centre, pedestrian areas, hassle-free atmosphere, easy cheap parking and colourful surroundings. I rest my case.

Sheila Parker,

Roughaw Road, Skipton.

SIR - After its cancellation last year due to the tragic foot and mouth epidemic, it was good to see the Kettlewell Scarecrow Festival bounce back this year, as good as ever.

Since stumbling on this delightful event unexpectedly in its first year my family has visited the event every year it has been held and we have encouraged friends etc to visit also.

The combination of the scarecrows, the lovely setting and the friendliness of the local people makes this a lovely day out for the visitor. Indeed, whereas the car-borne visitor is so often seen nowadays as either a cash cow to be milked dry or a pariah to be punished for daring to visit at all (and in the case of Skipton both at the same time) the refreshing welcome at the scarecrow festival is all the more pleasant.

We visited midweek and found the village busy and feel sure that all the hard work of the organisers will be repaid in visitor numbers and trade to village businesses.

Whilst we no longer visit (and spend money in) Skipton, my family's continued support of the Kettlewell event is assured.

John Harris,

Lower Barnes St,

Clayton-le-Moors.

SIR - Craven District Council is to be congratulated on the pretty gardens on the war memorials at the entrance to Aireville Park and on the High Street, and also the town hall tubs are most attractive this year.

Sadly, this is not the case in other parts of the town. The garden by the bridge which crosses to the bus station is a disgrace with thistles, nettles and litter.

One cannot see the attractive bushes that were planted.

The late councillor Janet Gott took pride in this garden and kept it nice. It upsets me to see the state of it.

The borders in the Gargrave road car park leave a lot to be desired.

Skipton is a market town we can be proud of and attracts many visitors but it must be made to look attractive. I beg the question, what has happened to our civic pride?

Jean Harrison,

Marton Road, Gargrave.

SIR - We in the UK pay 40 per cent more for a similar model of car than the Europeans pay. Also, a British manufactured car sells in Europe for 40 per cent less than we pay for it in the UK. Why is this? The powers that be were going to put a stop to this, but have put if off for five years.

Petrol and diesel fuel is 40 per cent cheaper (in some cases more) in Europe than in the UK. Road tax is also cheaper. Why? Their suppliers are our suppliers.

Whisky distilled in Scotland and beer brewed in Europe cost less in Europe, and so does English beer sold in supermarkets in Europe.

Hotel rooms in Europe (that put our hotel rooms to shame) are charged at a room price and not per person, like here, and cost half as much or less. That's why people go abroad. They can't afford a holiday in this country, especially a young couple with children.

Now we are told asylum seekers are going to be given free holidays with activities thrown in and spending money as well, at our expense. Yes, you the tax payer. They are also going to be given free private health care. Wonderful, isn't it?

Anyone seeking asylum is supposed to request asylum in the nearest, friendly country, not circumnavigate the globe to get here. Almost all of them have no cause to be here in the first place and should be deported. The Government should act now. I am sick and tired of these spongers and so are most people.

We are not racist, we have had to work and work damned hard for our health care, our holidays and our pensions. I suggest they do the same and any person who would stand up in Parliament and work for the British-born population would get my vote and, I suspect, yours as well.

A press leak informs us that several delegations of MPs are to go on study tours to places like Geneva and Helsinki, Auckland and Wellington, Canberra, Sydney and Tasmania, a 10-day tour of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean - in all, 11 foreign destinations.

Doesn't this shower of freeloaders think we would be better served, and at a lot less expense, trying to make places like Brixton, Birmingham, Burnley, Bradford and Oldham, from no-go areas into safe places for the people who put them in their privileged position, and having just been given a six per cent pay increase and a 25 per cent increase in their pension? Did you get 25 per cent on your pension? I rest my case.

Oh, need an ambulance? Phone the fire brigade.

Peter Gardiner,

Wellington Street,

Barnoldswick.

SIR - I have taken time to reflect on how little we as a society value human life since August 1 when the charges against causing death by dangerous driving against the lorry driver who killed my husband were withdrawn.

Why do we as a society accept a criminal justice system that is so inept that it can dismiss charges against the driver when evidence shows that he was breaking the speed limit at the time of the crash?

Is it because speeding has become socially acceptable as drink driving used to be?

Unless the courts impose harsher penalties on speeding motorists then this carnage will continue. Driver error is responsible for over 90 per cent of road crashes and unless every driver takes responsibility for his/her actions then families like mine will continue to face the tragic consequences.

Linda Waite,

Lawn Avenue,

Burley-in-Wharfedale.

SIR - While I sympathise with the people of Lothersdale and their postcode problems, I must take issue with the contention that the problem is one of "identity" as claimed by Mr Wheatstone in his otherwise illuminating letter (Craven Herald August 23).

May I remind readers that the administrative counties of North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire are the creations of London-based civil servants in the early 1970s and should have nothing to do with the true identity of Yorkshiremen and women.

Our part of Yorkshire is the ancient and historic West Riding, a division of the county that is over 11 centuries old (think about that for a moment) having been created by the Viking settlers from whom many of Yorkshire's present day inhabitants are descended.

It is in the West Riding that we really live, not in transient and artificial administrative "counties" that are unlikely to last beyond the next round of local government reorganisations.

Good luck to the people of Lothersdale and the surrounding villages in their dispute over the BD20 postcode - they are being discriminated against in an outrageous manner - but their real identity is unaffected by which side of the administrative boundary they are on. They are in the West Riding of Yorkshire and can never truly be anywhere else.

Stephen Stead,

Belgrave St, Skipton.

SIR - Leeds may be the bustling 24 hour city and Bradford have aspirations to become the City of Culture but driving out of Skipton on the B6265 towards paradise (sorry, I mean Grassington) takes some beating.

Ray Potter,

Low Lane, Grassington.

Local support

SIR - Could you please spare space for us to express our thanks to our many country-loving neighbours for their unsolicited messages of support as we defend the local countryside with all its beauties and our way of life in it.

Their generous support is well appreciated as a clear demonstration of the goodwill that the people of Embsay and Eastby offer to "offcumdens" who are true lovers of the countryside and which we have enjoyed for more than 25 years.

Mary and John Jones,

Kirk Lane, Eastby.

SIR - Would you believe it. Dyneley House Surgery has just syringed my ears. Alas, what should have been an aural enlightenment has turned into a noisesome nightmare.

Were I of a more cynical propensity I would fairly assume that the parochial populus of Skipton was being punished for non-attendance at Holy Trinity church by the vicar and his rope-tugging cohorts. Between the hours of 12am to 5pm my fellow drunkards and I have been subjected to a clanging cacophony of ringing retribution.

I am in receipt of a war pension for hearing voices in my head that aren't there. The last thing I require is the added chorus of ding dong, ding dong.

I must ask, are we to be damned into hell or deranged by the bell?It wouldn't be so bad if they could knock out a half decent tune.

Brian Kiernan Smith,

Upper Union Street, Skipton.

SIR - I am writing to urge your readers to take care in the sun. It is estimated that there are over 60,000 new cases of skin cancer in the UK every year, many of which could be prevented if people took better care of their skin.

Whether you are at home or abroad this summer, don't get caught out. Use sun protection lotion SPF 15 or higher, but don't rely on it exclusively.

Covering up with loose cotton clothing and a good hat is the simplest and safest way to protect everyone's skin - and remember - it's important to find shade in the hours around midday when the sun's rays are most intense.

Our charity has produced a new leaflet, packed full of information about UV radiation, sun protection, sun screens and the early warning signs of skin cancer. Your readers can obtain a copy of this by sending an A5-sized SAE marked "Skin cancer leaflet" to Cancer Research UK leaflets, PO Box 123, WC2A 3PX or visit our web site at www.cancerresearchuk.org

Dr Lesley Walker,

Director of Information,

Cancer Research UK.