Letters to the Editor - 04th March 2008

Mar 4 2008 Liverpool Daily Post

Sharing great experiences

IT WAS interesting to compare the organisation of three events in Liverpool last week on the same night.

At Liverpool University’s free public lecture series, presented by Richard Dawkins, demand was enormous so the university altered the venue from one of its own lecture theatres to the Philharmonic Hall and added an additional night. They made a positive and definitive step to address demand. This was a highly commercial response to a non-commercial event for which they deserve great credit.

Meanwhile, one of the hottest tickets of the year in Liverpool, the Tavener Requiem, took place at the Metropolitan Cathedral; for one night only. It, too, played to a full house, but potentially could have sold out many times over. While there may be spiritual and artistic reasons for choosing this venue, considerations of demand, participation, and revenue factors seem to have been ignored.

This seems a non-commercial response to a highly commercial event and I don’t understand the logic, given the purpose of Capital of Culture and its widely reported budget deficit. Surely this event, and indeed others to come, might have been organised in larger- scale venues, or over several nights to maximise impact and returns?

In contrast to these big-ticket events, the same night also saw the preview to the Liverpool Art Prize overseen by the amazing Ian Jackson of www.artinliverpool.com, which heralded the opening of the excellent Buddleia Gallery, in Greenland Street, and features the work of six talented local artists and is entirely free, thanks to some generous private sponsors. While its scale was different to the events above, it shows how grass roots culture is growing in Liverpool and how self-organisation of culture at the organic level is a highly viable proposition.

Good luck to all three organisations, but let’s get some balance in terms of how we, the public, can share these great Liverpool experiences

Colin Dyas, via email

The right candidates

MANY people, including some politicians, have tried to put the blame on the electorate for the festering voter apathy that contributed to abysmal election turnouts in Liverpool, especially those in Riverside.

It is time to point out that the problem lies with the political parties themselves.

They have been counting on the tribal mentality of their followers for support for decades, but we are now living in an age of choice. If the public don’t like what is on offer, then they simply won’t buy it, whether it is politics or anything else.

As I see it, the people in Liverpool Riverside are just taking the lead in the protest about the acute deficiency of quality candidates worth voting for at elections.

If the political parties continue to take the voters for granted and put up candidates in elections with the “that’s-all-you’re-getting-like-it-or-not” attitude, then one day, in the not too distant future, they shouldn’t be surprised to find the democratic system grinding to a halt simply through the shortage of participants.

It is up to the electorate to demand to be presented with a wider choice of candidates with suitable abilities, and each should be scrutinised in detail by the constituents.

If we want an efficient council or Parliament, we have to start with the right candidates.

To accommodate today’s voting public, radical changes must be made or we will see the political and social structures of the country undermined and inevitably the population will suffer as the result.

The sight of the Mother of all Parliaments in such a predicament would be disheartening indeed for many of the fledglings in the democratic world.

Rennie Ku, via email

Treaty differences

DURING Prime Minister’s Question Time, on Wednesday, February 27, Gordon Brown stood at the Despatch Box and stated that the EU Constitution treaty was dead and the amending Lisbon Treaty was not the same thing and therefore did not require a referendum, as had been promised for the Constitution.

Former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing, author of the constitution, has written “All the earlier proposals are in the new text; but will be hidden and disguised in some way. The Lisbon Treaty and its predecessor are effectively the same.”

The EU Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso, delighted in the success of the renamed Constitution.

Only 10 of the 250 proposals in the renamed Lisbon Treaty differ from those in the original Constitution Treaty. So much for honest, open government.

R Alder, Dunfermline

In danger

ALTHOUGH no supporter of the monarchy, I do feel some sympathy for Harry Windsor, who was forced to return home from a job he enjoys because some American journalist wanted to further their career.

If a UK writer printed a story jeopardising USA people, they would probably expect extradition under our weak, submissive laws regarding American interests.

Is there no way that the UK can protest at the position in which this one report has placed Harry Windsor’s whole battalion? Probably not – it’s their war.

Richard Coombs, via email

Media black-out

VERY well done to the American journalist who went and put the lives of all those men serving alongside Prince Harry in danger, just so he could have the “scoop”.

I am appalled that they could not have the decency to abide by the media black-out which our own press – who are frequently accused of being the world’s worst – did as they were asked for the benefit of all concerned.

I hope it was worth it for them.

F Swan, Aigburth

Eurovision joke

ON SATURDAY evening, the BBC devoted over an hour to yet another dismal popularity contest, this time to choose our entrant for the Eurovision Song Contest. In the event it was won by a reject from yet another talent contest, X Factor, with a rather forgettable song.

And we get to pay for this through our television licences. What joy. It really is about time that we abandoned the whole Eurovision thing anyway. It is a complete joke – even the presenters know it is.

K Lewis, Allerton

More freedom

DAVID CAMERON'S call to give ward councillors more freedom to spend individual neighbourhood budgets should be applauded.

The fact is that councillors know, better than anyone, what is required in particular areas.

The 30 wards of Liverpool are as diverse as is possible and a one-size-fits-all approach with regard to funding is simply not effective.

The Conservative leader's proposals would see more people becoming involved in their communities, revitalising politics and engaging our youth. More crucially, however, it will see that things actually get done in our areas.

Neil Wilson, West Derby Conservative campaigner

Absolute nightmare

WHILE running a business in Kirkby Town Centre, I can’t believe there is still a minority of people that don’t mind the fact that Everton Football Club could be coming to Kirkby.

Having lived most of my life around Goodison and then Anfield, I can tell them from bitter experience, that it is an absolute nightmare.

Your life will revolve around the football season and don’t forget that is now August to May, Saturdays, Sundays and weekday matches.

What really concerns me is that Knowsley Council would ever consider a football stadium in the heart of a small community like Kirkby.

I would strongly advise the people of Kirkby to stand up and say no to the stadium because once it is here it is here forever.

Paul Davis, L18

Finding new talent

I DID not see Stags and Hens the remix but I can completely empathise with D Valentine (Daily Post Letters), in wondering where all the new talent is.

Well, I think I stumbled on some the other day.

I got invited by a friend to go and see a play called Madonna and Me and can I just say that I was pleasantly surprised by the whole experience.

The Actor’s Studio is possibly the most charming little theatre in town, and the shows offer a wide range of performances.

I also hear that it has support from famous names like Willy Russell and Ricky Tomlinson, who did a show there the other night. If you are in search of a night at the theatre, consider the Actor’s Studio – you won’t be disappointed.

N Green, Wavertree

Fantastic week

WHAT a fantastic week last week was for Liverpool – first the announcement of the Sports Personality of the Year award in December at the ACC (Liverpool), followed by the Liverpool being selected as a training camp city for the 2012 Olympics.

Credit were credit is due, Warren Bradley has led both of these bids; also he took personal control of the opening events in the city for our Culture year, and they were hailed as the best ever.

The City Council is leading on lots of bids that are successful, and let’s not forget it was the City Council who led on our successful Capital of Culture bid.

BP Thompson-Jones, Liverpool 14

Wonderful show

MY FRIENDS and I went to the Liverpool Empire theatre on Tuesday to watch Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

What a wonderful show. What we were really impressed with, however, was the number of children there.

Some were quite small but they were very well behaved. They really enjoyed the show.

Well done to the parents, teachers and helpers – they were a credit to you.

M Howman, Northwich