Letters to the Editor

Bradford is no longer a thriving textile town with millionaire wool barons. It has had to reinvent itself.

It still has thriving companies such as Morrisons and Pace Electronics (50 other of Bradford's top companies were published in the T&A last week). It is doing a great job in the Capital of Culture bid by advertising the many good things of this still great city.

If Mr Oxley remembers, Leeds had far worse riots than Bradford in the early 1980s. They lasted nearly a week.

Later, about 1988, the Thatcher government installed a quango in Leeds called the Leeds Development Corporation. Hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers' money was given to develop what is now the New Leeds.

No other city in Yorkshire was allowed to partake in this "begging bowl". Had Bradford been chosen for redevelopment the rich-man/poor man roles may have been reversed.

Michael Colgan, Leeds Road, Eccleshill.

SIR - I would like to thank all involved in their efforts in keeping Bradford's parks tidy and clean and well-groomed, even though some of the public (old and young) do their best to destroy this work.

The worst offenders are dog walkers who only need a plastic bag and ten seconds to bend at the waist with hand in litter bag to pick up their precious little friend's pile.

I'm disabled, have trouble bending over and have a five-year-old rescue dog, and if I can do it so can you. That's if you care?

Other offenders are schools near these parks. A good example is the wall opposite Buttershaw High School where it seems all and sundry drop their litter.

K Fry, Beacon Road, Wibsey, Bradford.

S IR - Audrey Raistrick often writes about Immanuel Church of England Community College school, usually to denigrate it and usually providing your readers with less than the full facts. No doubt the full facts are awkward for her, but here they are:

First, 50 per cent of the current pupils of the September 2002 intake will come from the very area that she purports to speak for.

Secondly, no first preference pupil has been refused a place at Immanuel for September 2002. This makes it clear that we are a neighbourhood school.

Thirdly, Immanuel provides no special buses and therefore no bussing. Indeed the only special buses are for the Ravenscliffe area and are provided by the LEA.

Fourthly, it is a half truth to say that Immanuel is "dedicated to serving the needs of the Christian community within its catchment area". There is no catchment area and a minimum of 50 per cent of places and currently some 75 per cent of places at the school are reserved for pupils without any regard to faith allegiance. The only criterion is the extent to which they are from the local neighbourhood, which is why we are a 'Community College'.

The Venerable G A Wilkinson, chairman of Governors, Immanuel Church of England Community College, Leeds Road, Thackley.

SIR - I read with dismay about what has been happening to Burnside House. It's about time something was done with it. Would it not be feasible to use it as an annexe to the old people's home next door?

I'm sure that Ashfield is like many other old people's homes, where they don't have enough places for the people who would like to live there. Surely it wouldn't be too much trouble to have a corridor to link the two buildings, or maybe even build more rooms or a bigger kitchen or bathroom between them.

I think that this would be a good way to get Burnside House back into use.

Mrs C M Rhodes, Harper Grove, Sutton-in-Craven.

SIR - We have just finished a very successful Daffodil Campaign to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care. I would like to thank your readers for supporting us by giving a donation in return for a daffodil.

Much of our success is due to the commitment and enthusiasm of our growing band of volunteers, and to them we owe thanks.

In your area we raised £1,035.94 at a recent street collection. This is a fantastic contribution to our work and will make a real difference to the lives of the people we care for in our hospices and through our nursing service.

Personally, it has been a humbling and inspirational experience and I have met so many people with a story to tell about their brushes with cancer and other diseases. It spurs me on as a local fundraiser to work even harder for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

Brian Curran, Community Fundraising Manager, Bradford Calderdale and Craven, Marie Curie Cancer Care, Maudsley Street, Bradford 3.

SIR - Are you joking when you say that people should be proud of John Street Market?

Mr Vagius, market manager, wants to get out of his office and look around the market. The aisles are blocked with boxes of fruit and sweets, all sorts of things. Also there is an armchair blocking one aisle all the time, sometimes with someone asleep in it. It's a disgrace.

P Wallace, Draughton Street, Bradford 5.

SIR - I was shocked to read the article about St Luke's Hospital selling hot buttered toast to raise money for breast cancer patients, as this has possible health and health education issues.

To quote an A-Z of women's health, "A high-fat, high-protein and low carbohydrate diet, which is common in industrialised countries, may increase the risk" (of breast cancer developing). Even as a non-medical person I have read this fact many times in breast care articles.

I really admire their efforts. They have done a marvellous job in raising so much money, rather than just sitting on their laurels. But could I ask that they consider selling toast with low-fat spread rather than butter, plus fruit and other healthy food option.

Barbara Klempa, Box Tree Grove, Long Lee, Keighley.

l EDITOR'S NOTE: Staff at the breast care unit tell us that they use low-fat spread and low-sugar jam, plus a choice of white or wholemeal bread.

SIR - The most charitable comment that can be made regarding your correspondent Stephen Bellaby's tirade (April 3) is that it is profoundly ill-informed.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and Billy Liar were filmic adaptations of two entirely separate and different books; the former by James Thurber and the latter by Keith Waterhouse, right. Any similarities between the two were, at best, superficial, and to suggest that Billy was in any shape an imitation of Mitty would be risible if it wasn't simple ridiculous.

The mere fact that Billy Liar was conceived as a novel and that, at the time, the idea that it would ever be filmed would have been beyond Waterhouse's wildest dreams, should be sufficient evidence for anyone purblind enough to contemplate plagiarism.

As to Mr Bellaby's scathing dismissal of Bradford's films in particular and the "kitchen sink" genre in general, I suggest he makes a viewing list which includes The Dresser, Room at the Top, Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, This Sporting Life, Kes and A Kind of Loving.

Brian Owram, Main Street, Esholt.

SIR - In response to two letters published on April 1.

The first, by Asif Aslam, is quite right in criticising the guided bus route on Manchester Road. How many people witness near accidents that are never reported? Does this monumental mistake, taking in to account the cost, make anybody's journey much different?

In regard to the letter by Trevor Barratt as to safety belts and their priorities. The three-quarters of a mile-long Carr Bottom Road, newly given ten humps of various sizes, make it imperative for us to use our seat belts in order to stay seated on this switchback which makes some of the rides at Blackpool, seem tame by comparison.

Kenneth E Higgins, Carr Bottom Grove, Little Horton.