Letters to the Editor - 22nd May 2008

May 22 2008 Liverpool Daily Post

A beacon of local culture

I AM writing to you about the little red ship, Planet. I am disgusted that this ship is not being used for youth training in skills of seawoman/seamanship. We are a port, don’t forget, and need to stay one if all else fails. So we need people trained up in this area.

Planet could be used to take Liverpool bands around Europe, lighting the way, and the chosen bands could play the 56 number ones we are famous for in each port around Europe that we are supposed to be the Culture Capital of.

We go to them and then they come to us, it would be one of the best promotions the city could have.

Planet could be a mascot for the city, lighting the way for all who come here. Radio stations could also follow the band’s progress on board, and we could have stickers on the ship of sponsors from around Europe. Planet could become more famous than the yellow submarine.

A Vaughan, L8

Betrayal

AFTER reading the article about the lightship Planet (Daily Post, May 19), I feel a sense of disgust and betrayal by Liverpool City Council, its leaders and executives, as well as the Albert Dock Company and Gower Estates. They all should hang their heads in shame at this cavalier abandonment of our city’s great maritime heritage.

If only we could send them to Salford and keep the Planet instead.

Keith H Shepherd, L18

Love conquers all

AN ARTICLE in your newspaper (May 19) protested that marriage is just a dream for many of Britain’s poorest people. Forgive me if this sounds foolish, but a couple can legally marry in a registry office for just over £100.

The expensive part of "getting hitched" is not the ceremony but all the trimmings, hen and stag nights or weekends, designer outfits, reception and disco and an exotic honeymoon to follow. While this is probably what most couples would wish for, the expression "cutting your coat according to your cloth" comes to mind.

A romantic, address supplied

Free our mail

IN HIS letter printed in the Daily Post (May 19), John Eoin Douglas shows a total lack of understanding about the Royal Mail. He congratulates Postcomm for concluding that Royal Mail should begin the approach to privatisation. Indeed, Postcomm reached this conclusion because Royal Mail is losing money by the bucket-load.

However, what Mr Douglas fails to realise is Royal Mail used to be a state monopoly that actually turned in a profit year on year. We have only arrived at this situation because two EU directives (97/67/EC and 2002/39/EC) have allowed the most profitable parts of Royal Mail to be cherry-picked by competitors.

What is even worse is that our own government cannot subsidise the ailing service without asking permission from the European Commission. This has resulted in 2,500 post office closures and another possible 3,000 in the pipeline; it may also result in us losing our Saturday post, which will cause up to 20,000 job losses.

Surely we can agree that it is time we started governing ourselves again and set about saving our Royal Mail free from the shackles of the EU.

Paul Nuttall, UKIP Prospective Parliamentary Candidate (Bootle)

Make them pay

WHAT has happened to the council imposing fines for members of the public disposing of cigarette butts on the floor? We see the taxis going around advertising that people are subject to a £75 fine, but do these enforcers actually patrol the streets?

At the back of Moorfields station (Old Hall Street) entrance the butts are stacking up at a ridiculous rate, you walk up Bixteth Street and again all you see is cigarette butts on the street and smokers callously throwing butts on the floor. By the Plaza and the new St Paul’s development, the situation is just as bad with smokers simply throwing butts on the floor. Where are these patrol people that the council advised would be patrolling the streets?

The only way to stop these people being throwing the butts on the floor and keeping our city clean and tidy without ugly looking cigarette butts all over the place is to hit them where it hurts, in the pocket.

Gareth Davies, via email

Irresponsible

NO MATTER how often new signs are put up, there are still some irresponsible dog owners who allow their animals to mess in the street.

I have a dog myself, so I fully understand how unpleasant it can be having to pick up after your pet, but that comes with the territory of being a dog owner.

I’ve lost count of the number of times that, on my way home from work, I have had to treat my road as a maze, weaving in and out of what dogs have left behind.

I have seen children try to pick it up, only to be stopped at the very last moment by their mothers, and I’m sure a lot of people have experienced stepping in it, only to have a very hard time scraping it off the bottom of their shoes.

The council need to come down harder on these offenders, because signs warning about a fine have done nothing to deter this inconsiderate behaviour.

HJ, Allerton

Parking facts

RE: THE letter from E Fosdyke (May 19). The parking restrictions in Cressington Park on private unadopted roads have been in place now for two years, and notices advising drivers of unauthorised parking and penalties are clearly on show within the Park.

As a matter of interest, the decision to introduce parking restrictions was only made after many years of inconsiderate and free parking by increasing numbers of car drivers who blocked driveways, parked on pavements, etc, while making use of the train service to go to work, shop in town or even to go on holiday.

The suggestion that one of the residents, a city councillor, is also a trustee is incorrect as the lady in question, although resident in the Park, is not a Trustee.

Cressington Park resident

Uncaring council

HOW much contempt do the authorities in Sefton have for the people who live in and have to drive through Crosby to get to work each morning?

As the closure of Bridge Road, which represents one of two main routes out of Crosby, enters its second week, and with the regular delays caused by deliveries to the Tesco Metro Development on Liverpool Road, imagine my horror to see, when driving along the highly congested Liverpool Road, the signs that part of the road will be reduced to one lane due to works.

Liverpool Road seems to have been dug up virtually every summer since I moved to Crosby nine years ago and, while I appreciate that there must be a valid reason for works to take place, why does it appear to be beyond the capacity of planners to ensure that minimum disruption takes place?

People who have to travel to Liverpool for work each day have had their lives disrupted enough over the last couple of years by the Liverpool One development, and it is not unreasonable to expect a co- ordinated approach to works.

Rob Hart, via email

Patronising

AS A Wirral resident under the age of 25, I was pleased to see that, after the recent local elections, there are at least three councillors in my age group representing the Wirral. I was therefore disappointed to witness members of the Labour party ridicule these elected representatives at this week’s full council meeting. One Labour councillor jeered "it’s school time" while another made a reference to it "being past their bedtime". This is both offensive and patronising – as elected councillors they should know better.

At a time of voter apathy, particularly among younger people, politicians should be engaging and encouraging young people to get involved.

Alexander Silvester, Meols

Soulful

I CANNOT agree with Amy Jones, that You’ll Never Walk Alone is a tedious dirge (Letters, Daily Post, May 20). It was sung with feeling by Bryn Terfel, the Philharmonic Choir, and the audience at the end of a recent RLPO concert.

To many people in Liverpool, and most outside it, it encapsulates the soul of our great city, not just Liverpool FC.

Tony Knifton, Formby

Fine song

AMY JONES (Letters, May 20) may say that she has no time for You’ll Never Walk Alone and think it tedious, but I would like to assure her that a great many Liverpudlians do not feel the same way.

I have no football affiliations but I always feel a great sense of pride when I hear this moving anthem and it is worth remembering this is not just some terraces chant but actually the fine work of composers Rogers and Hammerstein.

M Abbott, Rainford

Fight for freedom

ON MAY 2, Stuart Wheeler was granted leave to seek a judicial review of Gordon Brown’s refusal to hold a referendum on whether the Lisbon Treaty should be ratified.The hearing will be held on June 9 and 10.

Those readers who have concerns for our future national freedom, democracy and sovereignty under the growing oppression of continuing EU membership, might care to visit his website at www.stuartwheeler.co.uk to obtain further information on Stuart’s fight for justice on behalf of every person that values their freedom.

F Daugherty, L25

Lock-out

CAN someone please tell me which bright spark came up with the idea of renovating the Pump House pub, in the Albert Dock, causing a seven- week closure at the height of our Capital of Culture Year?

E Parry, Wavertree