SIR - So the call for more Bank Holidays has surfaced again.

At a time when most workers get at least 20 working days holiday a year, Bank Holidays are an anachronism harking back to the days when very few people had holidays.

Bank holidays should be abolished, not increased.

Already the system is abused. My local Council offices were closed for three days over the Easter "bank holiday" and we are the only nation on the planet that closes for two weeks at Christmas. It isn't as if we are even nominally a Christian nation any more.

I'm not surprised that John Prescott is in favour. He is one of the clan that gave themselves "half-term" holidays as soon as they got into power, and they've been fiddling the hours they supposedly work ever since.

And as for a Bank Holiday to "celebrate" Trafalgar. In Blair's Britain? He thinks that aspect of our history is irrelevant, and let's face it, with the way Napoleon's Europe is being imposed upon us by a German/French dominated EU, who is to say he isn't right?

Alan Carcas, Cornmill Lane, Liversedge.

SIR - How nice of Juliet Proud, of Christchurch, New Zealand, to lecture us on our inability to run this country (Letters, April 12). It is also interesting to hear from someone who has left the sinking ship for a better life.

It must look as if Britain's world has been turned upside down from her position.

I wonder, has she renounced British citizenship and all the benefits that brings, or is that a step too far?

Does she realise with all this foot and mouth, there's no coming back? Friends and relations will not be allowed to visit her. Yes, it's that bad.

Of course it's an ill wind that blows nobody any good, so keep on sending the prime New Zealand lamb. Some of us will be able to afford it. Oh, and don't forget the food parcels. They'll be a godsend.

Do write again soon, Juliet. Your encouragement and example has given us all a real lift.

R J Lacey, Wrose Road, Bradford 12.

SIR - The Government is totally responsible for the current outbreak of foot and mouth in this country.

The Tory Government set up a specialist within MAFF to control the rogue sheep traders. The Blair government, to save a few pounds, dropped this unit.

Rogue farming of sheep has now risen to 1.2 million, which has helped in the quick spread of the disease.

The Blair government has allowed the import of meat from Namibia, Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina. All of these countries have recently had foot and mouth disease. This meat is still being imported.

Why did MAFF, in February, blame an illegal consignment of meat yet did nothing about it?

Why, four weeks before the present outbreak was reported, did government departments begin searching for wood for the funeral pyres?

The Labour Government couldn't arrange a round of drinks. That's why they want us to be in Europe - so they can blame someone else for their many mistakes.

A Clarke, Calverley Bridge, Rodley.

SIR - The foot-and-mouth crisis is just the latest turn in the downward spiral of British agriculture. It is a terrible tragedy for the farming community, but it has had an impact way beyond farming, resulting in losses to tourism of £200 million per week.

Out of the adversity of the foot-and-mouth disaster, we must identify opportunities for change - not just for farming, but for the countryside as a whole.

If we simply encourage farmers to continue as before, we will miss a major opportunity to put agriculture on a more sustainable footing for the long-term benefit of farmers, rural communities and the environment.

In West Yorkshire, as elsewhere in the UK, birds such as the skylark, corn bunting, lapwing and tree sparrow, and other wildlife such as the common blue butterfly, are being lost from the countryside at an alarming rate, while the number of people working in farming also continues to plummet.

Much more of the taxpayers' £3.5 billion annual spend on agriculture needs to be directed towards environmentally-friendly farming and schemes which provide help for farmers to diversify their business.

Good food, a healthy environment and vibrant rural communities are what we all want. It's time government policy reflected our wishes.

Graham Wynne, chief executive, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Sandy, Bedfordshire.

SIR - I was also pleased, like Stuart Baker (Letters, April 12), to see that Bradford was included in the areas allocated funds by the EU.

What a pity we have to go through such expensive layers of administration, though, to be considered worthy of aid from an EU fund. After all, the money comes from a pot into which we pay considerably more than we receive back.

Of course, as Stuart Baker points out, the funds are designed to aid poorer areas and create a level playing field within the EU. Once the EU enlarges eastward, this will include countries like Latvia, Romania, Slovakia and Estonia.

I'm sure there are many poor areas in these countries that will attract EU funds, helping them in their attempt to catch up with economies such as that in the UK.

Yorkshire had better make the most of the funds "given" by the EU, since the EU will soon have higher priorities in creating their level playing field.

Mrs Susan Watson, Foster Park Road, Denholme.

SIR - I was searching Bradford on the Net, and as an old Victoria Rangers player, it was wonderful to see them still going. Could you please convey them my best wishes for the future.

Victor Hemingway, Woronora Court, Noble Park, Victoria 3174, Australia.