Letters to the Editor

Following this I would draw attention to the fact that the Church of England is now dipping its greedy snout into the Little Horton regeneration trough to off-load the burden of the neglected All Saints Church.

While embalming the corpse of a dead church might seem a worthy cause to well-fed and privileged local "Christians", I somehow think that the underprivileged of Little Horton would prefer the money spent on, say, a sports centre or a single-parent support team.

I was under the impression that the church was meant to contribute to the community not take from it.

David Simpson, Hirst Avenue, Heckmondwike

SIR - According to Councillor Keith Thomson (Letters, October 24), the weather forecast for the next few years is "more gales, storms, falling trees, flooding, rats and even droughts". Presumably, he has been listening to the experts.

They tell us that the record rains last autumn were caused by man-made global warming and we can expect more of the same in future.

But wait a moment. Didn't the experts tell us to get used to persistent drought when we had the hosepipe bans a few years ago?

And some global warming experts tell us that rather than getting warmer, Britain and Northwest Europe will soon be plunged into an arctic climate.

This will be due to the volume of melt water flowing from the Labrador Sea into the North Atlantic and displacing the North Atlantic Drift. Icebergs will be visible from the Cornish coast.

Yet more experts say we should not miss the current opportunity of pumping more carbon into the atmosphere to off-set the effects of the next ice age.

But what really worries me is this: whatever happened to acid rain? Has global warming caused it to evaporate?

I await the experts' view.

Richard Whiteley, New Close Road, Nab Wood

SIR - I think many people hoped, in the aftermath of the July riots, that free speech had returned to Bradford. Letters to the T&A by white Bradfordians (mainly women) encouraged this new thinking.

For the first time for 50 years young Bradford Muslims wrote of their desire to cast off the medieval customs of the Pakistani hill-country and adopt the attitudes of Britons, without impairing any of their devout Muslim beliefs.

Since then we have had the shameful suppression of the Mahoney report which states that Bradford's problems have nothing to do with race. Sikhs, Hindus and Hong Kong Chinese love Bradford, enjoy our education system and have successful business careers.

Mahoney concludes that Muslim complaints regarding education and employment are ultimately due to their adherence to primitive ways of life. I urge whoever is dealing with the Ouseley Report to publish Graham Mahoney's report on race in full and obtain the views of all Bradfordians, particularly Muslim progressives. This is Bradford's last chance before chaos becomes endemic.

Les Brotherton, Caroline Street, Saltaire.

SIR - I was most interested to read that Muslims from all over the world were flocking to Afghanistan to fight alongside the Taliban. May I be the first to wish them every success in their quest for martyrdom.

From my armchair in front of a roaring fire, watching a first-class film on my 32-inch television, with a glass of port and a good cigar, may I also say that I hope they enjoy their trip to the Afghan winter wonderland.

If, however, they fail in their quest, I hope they do not bother to come back here again. By then our Government may have had the guts to bring in laws to clamp down on traitors like them!

M. Wood, Westercroft View, Northowram

SIR - Bonfire Night used to be great. It was another day out of the year children could look forward to. Parents would also enjoy watching their children's faces light up along with the beautiful fireworks.

Unfortunately the sale of fireworks has become completely out of hand and now they're a consumable to be scared of. They can be bought at anytime and by anyone who may look 16.

The people who are abusing the use of the firework are immature and blatantly stupid. They don't understand the full consequences that may arise by putting these things through people's letterboxes, not to mention the sickening cruel games they play with our pets.

Bonfire Night entertainment should be put on by specialised people in a specialised venue.

We should ban the sale of fireworks altogether, and bring back those happy and excited faces of children, and leave the rest of us, including our pets, in peace.

Sarah Barker, Eversley Drive, Holme Wood, Bradford.

SIR - The last couple of months have seen fireworks going off every night. I would like to see them banned altogether. There are too many people getting hurt by them, and kids doing wrong things with them.

Every year we have this ritual, bonfires and fireworks, but it isn't just for one day. Oh no, it goes on for weeks before and weeks after the day.

I wish the public could take a vote on whether to ban fireworks and bonfires in Bradford altogether. My name would be top of the list.

Mrs A Williams, Frank Street, Great Horton.

SIR - Being a lover of the theatre, both on and off stage, I was thrilled by the wonderful show Whistle Down the Wind, brought to us by Bradford's Alhambra Theatre.

On leaving the theatre, I was even more thrilled by the sound of the City Hall clock during the music of No Matter What. Surely the City Hall is another jewel in Bradford's crown.

Louise Barton, Craig View, Nab Wood.