IT IS with great sadness that I read in your pages of the catastrophic fire at the site of the former Sayers’ Bakery, in Lorenzo Drive, Norris Green, which will no doubt lead to its final demolition.

As if the area had not suffered enough, the demise of the factory will mark a new low-point in the history of the area which, when I was resident there from the 1950s to the late 1970s, was a wonderful place in which to grow up.

Sayers will always be particularly remembered by a whole generation of school, college and university students who, like me, spent their summer holidays working at the factory and Friday nights completing a night shift.

This provided us with enough pocket-money to last the week, therefore taking the financial weight off the shoulders of our parents and enabling us to study without being penniless.

I will always remember taking cakes, pies and pasties home from the factory shop on Saturday mornings before anyone was up and working throughout the long hot summers of the early ’70s with a group of people, young and old, who will always be close to my heart.

I feel certain that there are others out there who remember with equal fondness and gratitude having had such a rewarding experience working at Sayers, in Lorenzo Drive, when both the company and the area were in their prime. Little did we know, those really were the days!

Gerald Murphy, L13

Shopping city

THE opening of the Liverpool One shopping centre is another giant stride by our city to rival, if not better, what can be found elsewhere.

For too long, Manchester has ruled the roost when it comes to city centre development and has been the “place to go”. So Merseyside now has the chance to knock the Mancunians off their perch, despite the current uneasy global financial situation and the credit crunch.

With the added impetus of Capital of Culture and the influx of visitors, it brings the opportunity for us to buck the national trends – but it does need another push.

I see Trafford Centre advertisements on the back of Liverpool buses and I see people heading for Cheshire Oaks when we should be putting Liverpool One in lights and attracting customers back.

Let’s start by offering free parking areas for Liverpool One shoppers. That, in itself, will attract people and more positive publicity for Liverpool One.

It is time for the sleeping giant to awake and to put Liverpool back in the top bracket of cities to shop in.

Forget Manchester. Their shopping and football crowns are about to be taken.

Len Griffiths, Prenton

Special One

HOW impressed I was when I popped down to the Liverpool One shopping area this week, following the phase two launch.

Liverpool One has already changed the city centre beyond all recognition, but now that the second part is open it really is something special.

And what a joy it is to have some green space back in the city centre.

L Matthews, Southport

Inter-city demand

PROPOSALS for a European-style network of high-speed rail lines would be welcome, providing they don't just go in and out of London.

Liverpool city centre should be plugged into a proper network. Anything less will render the proposal meaningless for us.

At the moment, it is nothing short of a disgrace that there are no direct links between, for example, Liverpool and Glasgow and that the Trans-Pennine service linking several northern cities is not electrified.

The first priority for a national rail network should be connecting the “core cities” of England with each other directly. That means direct links between (at least) all of the following: Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Newcastle, Nottingham and Sheffield.

There should also be direct connections from each English core city to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Cardiff, Holyhead (or Stranraer, for Dublin and Belfast) and the Channel Tunnel.

Until there are proper links between all of these, a token “North-South link” will not be a green option. It will just be yet another ego-trip for London-centric politicians.

Trevor Skempton, Liverpool city centre

Local justice reform

THE Howard League for Penal Reform has set up an independent Commission to investigate the best way of dealing with people who commit crimes and how we can all work to make our communities safer. We want to hear from your readers.

The Commission on English Prisons Today is considering how to make justice a local affair. It is interested in hearing how local people can have control over how money is spent and how we can invest money to tackle the underlying causes of crime.

Its new consultation paper suggests that local control of prisons and community sentencing might be more effective than the current bureaucratic and central system.

The Commission has put a questionnaire on its website and is calling for ideas and submissions. The website is www.prison commission.org.uk

Frances Crook, member, Commission on English Prisons Today, director, The Howard League for Penal Reform

Appalled by plan

WE LIVE on the Redrow Estate on Garston Docks, and were appalled to hear news of plans to build a 300,000-tonnes waste recycling plant near to our home.

We were told recently about a public meeting in Garston, where we could meet councillors, officers and the applicants.

However, when we arrived at the packed hall, only councillors from the Speke ward were there and they were unable to help us in any way.

So we got onto Liverpool Direct and found our councillors were from Cressington ward. They explained to us that they are opposing the plant on our behalf and have requested the applicants meet with us in Cressington.

We want to make this clear because we have heard a lot of criticism of these councillors and we know they are on our side. They have helped us to voice our objections and write a letter to the planning department.

Gary and Jessica Parkfield, L19

Sore throat point

I WAS one of the few lucky people able to get hold of tickets for Simon Rattle conducting the RLPO on Thursday night.

There was a wonderful atmosphere – the Philharmonic Hall was packed and there was a standing ovation.

However, what was disappointing was all the coughing going on, particularly during the quieter movements.

I, too, had a cold that night, and a particularly aggressive cough, but I managed to control it throughout the performance, only coughing during the applause.

There is not even an excuse for spoiling other people’s enjoyment of the concert because the Phil offers free cough sweets in the foyer.

P May, West Derby

Great Biennial idea

I WAS interested to read about St Bride’s Church being used for the Biennial.

What a great idea!

There are so many disused churches around Merseyside and it is sad to see them empty when once they were full of people.

This use is better than it being turned into a bar because it is still for all of the community, although I do think that turning a church into a bar is better than it being knocked down, especially if it is a particularly attractive building.

Mrs Harding, Heswall

PFI claptrap

THE private finance initiative to build the new Royal Hospital is not only a very bad further step in the privatisation of our beloved NHS, but it will saddle future generations with debt while enriching the private financiers, speculators and bankers who are so responsible for the current economic crisis we all face.

Those who say there is no alternative to PFI need to ditch the market fundamentalist claptrap they come out with. Let's keep our NHS public. I urge all Merseyside people to raise this matter with their MPs and visit www. keepournhspublic.com

Martin Timson, Liverpool

Receipt required

COULD anyone tell me why it is impossible to get a receipt for Mersey Tunnel toll fees?

Every other financial transaction demands that the person you hand money to gives you proof of payment.

If you buy a bus or train ticket it’s certainly true, and you’ve got your ticket as proof.

Companies these days are tightening their belts and want receipts for everything. But when I asked the official in the manned booth at the Wallasey tunnel for a receipt I was told they didn’t do them – and to “blame Europe”.

Jonathan Willis, Tenbury

Mystery blaze

I WONDER if any readers can help with the following query: my late uncle often said he had witnessed a huge fire at a store around Church Street in 1960, and he would give a horrifying account of the blaze, and talk of people jumping to their deaths from the windows of the store.

Does anyone know if there was such a blaze in or around Church Street circa 1960? I'd like to look up this incident, if indeed it ever happened.

Alan Forsyth, Ince Blundell

Lack of foresight

NOT so long ago, Gordon Brown took all the credit for the good performance of the British economy, and he attributed not a word to the favourable world economic conditions at the time.

Now that the economy is not doing so well, he puts all the blame on external events, financial institutions and even the media.

Given his acclaimed expertise, surely he and his many advisors should have foreseen something of this present crisis.

Silvan Jones, address supplied