Letters to the Editor - 05th June 2008

Jun 5 2008 Liverpool Daily Post

Stadium plan is sensible

I AM delighted to agree with Cllr Warren Bradley's most sensible suggestion to revive the idea of a joint stadium for our city.

The financial argument for it is overwhelming, with no sustainable reasons against it except – of course – intolerable sentimentalism and local-patriotic manifestations of the old- fashioned ways of supporting our teams.

In our city, we often see Reds and Blues walking together to a derby game. Families frequently contain supporters of both teams.

This should be exploited in a way to be the first such enterprise in the UK which would, surely, be followed by others.

This joint stadium in Stanley Park would become the Wembley of the North for international events, too. The shared cost would make it affordable and the site would prevent Everton becoming "Kirkby Rovers" as the press would surely call them after two bad results.

This is a modern, sensible and forward-looking solution, which should be welcome by both sets of supporters to whom the quality of football is more important than petty divisions, which are currently behind the non- achievements of both clubs in the Premiership.

Dr Andrew Zsigmond, (A "Red" since 1957), via email

Separate identities

WARREN BRADLEY does the cause of building a joint stadium for our two great football clubs no good in his letter (Daily Post, June 2).

Liverpool and Everton FC exist to provide sports entertainment and a realistic chance of success for their fans.

They've been doing it now for well over 100 years each and in the long run both have been relatively successful.

Operating their individual commercial enterprises independently produces the kind of competition that keeps both clubs' management teams (on and off the pitch) on their toes.

He will be aware that UEFA rank Liverpool FC as their number one seeded club in Europe for the 2009 Champions League – so they haven’t been doing as badly as he might have us believe and by referring to a "Top Three" he shows a bias unbecoming of a man in his position.

Does his "argument" expose an inability to separate out emotion from the facts in other more crucial areas in his role representing all of the people of the Liverpool City Region?

Bill Howard, L7

This is our time

HERE ON Merseyside, we are witnessing some of the most historic scenes in our long, distinguished history.

Only this last week we have seen the opening of Liverpool One and the Paul McCartney concert grab national as well as regional headlines.

These are the days we have been dreaming of since the Capital of Culture victory in 2003. We pas- sionately want to see Merseyside make the most of its renaissance. We all stand to benefit from this breathtaking transformation. Nevertheless, we are concerned that Merseyside could be tainted by the national mood which is in a very different frame of mind.

While Capital of Culture breathes vitality into our economy, the rest of the country has little to feel optimistic about.

We urge Merseysiders not to allow the gloom in the national media to knock us off course. Our region is being catapulted forward by a number of factors, the benefits of which will be felt for years to come.

This is in stark contrast to the rest of the UK. Our current hard- earned boom is our future legacy.

We encourage people to continue to invest in Merseyside.

We have a tremendous amount to offer from quality of life, quality of staff, ease of transport connections to hugely competitive residential and commercial property prices compared with the rest of the UK. As Capital of Culture rightly says: This is our time.

Simon Wall, Venmore

Sensitive planning

CONGRATULATIONS to the designers of the impressive new John Lewis Store, graceful, light, modern, yet confident enough to allow space and equal prominence to the older buildings in the area, such as Church House and 12, Hanover Street.

That’s what you get when you hire architects, planners and designers with a real sensitivity to their immediate surroundings and the character of a city.

Contrast that with the dreadful St John’s Precinct, in Lime Street.

The owners, Land Securities, boast they have a commercial property portfolio worth over £14bn; they must despise Liverpool, otherwise why else would they continue to force such ugliness upon us.

In hiding the already inexcusably sited car park behind scaffolding and a giant multi- media screen, directly opposite St George’s Hall, they have once again shown their arrogance and contempt for undoubtedly the finest Victorian architecture this city has to offer.

Liverpool One is our future; for goodness’ sake, let’s make it clear to Land Securities that their properties, like Concourse House, belong in our dismal 60s and 70s architectural past.

Name and address supplied

Talented artists

THE Liverpool Mural Project (TLMP) would like to express its unequivocal thanks to the people of Litherland for their praise and support during our week-long mural project, on Croxteth Avenue.

The project which has been ongoing for two years eventually came to fruition last month.

This was the first real collaboration between artists from both sides of the political divide in Northern Ireland, and was commissioned to create a mural to help celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Riverside Housing Association.

We would like to thank Lisa Roberts and her family for allowing the Lennon mural to adorn her gable end wall.

Her and her family’s help, support and generosity during the week long project was invaluable.

The artists from Belfast along side Liverpool artists and a group of local volunteers created what is now the "John Lennon/ Beatles Mural".

The mural is a testament to the talents that both Belfast and Liverpool artists have to give to Liverpool in its cultural year.

As one passer-by said on our last day of the project, you have created a great new tourist attraction and, without doubt "the coolest house on Merseyside", fitting praise, indeed, for a team who has strived to give art back to the people in our year of celebration.

Greg Brennan and Peter Morrison, The Liverpool Mural Project

No ‘merger’

RE: "BULGARIAN Merger" (Letters, Friday, May 30). Daniel Oxley, of UKIP, backs my campaign in Europe for justice for Michael Shields, but then adds yet another UKIP fantasy about a merger between the UK and Bulgaria through the EU.

Let us be clear, without the EU there would be no chance of getting justice for Michael and ensuring rights for all British citizens abroad.

There is no question of a legal "merger" as he asserts, all EU states maintain their separate legal identities and systems.

He and his party apply the same flawed UKIP ideology to every- thing they perceive as "European", leading them to vote against better rights for air passengers, against cheaper calls for mobile phone users in Europe and against tougher UK-style controls on guns that will cut the supply of illegal guns to our streets.

Their anti-European ideology means they are even against Liverpool as the European Capital of Culture because this too is "European".

Arlene McCarthy MEP, Liverpool Labour Euro-MP

Weston closure

I WAS very sad to learn of the closure of Simon Weston’s charity, Weston Spirit.

It must have been very difficult for him to make the decision to shut it down and it will be a great loss to the city, but we must not forget all the good work it has done for young people.

A total 85,000 young people have been helped through the good work of this charity, given opportunities that they would not have otherwise had and a chance to gain employment.

If only it were the case that such an organisation were no longer needed in Liverpool, but this is simply untrue.

Young people are more disaffected than ever before, and have nothing to do but hang around street corners until they are old enough to sign on the dole.

Hopefully, there will be someone else prepared to take on the mantle that Simon Weston embodied so well for so many years.

M Harvey, Wavertree

Little hope

I READ in the Daily Post that a lorry trailer painted by graffiti "artist" Banksy could sell for hundreds of thousands of pounds.

I am sorry, but I just do not get this person.

From what I have seen of his "art", it is no better than that done by the Asbo kids. There was all that fuss about his artwork on Renshaw Street, but to me it just looks a mess.

Why anyone would want to part with good money for this stuff, I have no idea.

But then, if the Tate Modern is willing to pay to exhibit excrement in a can, I have very little hope for the art world.

JK, Aughton

Incredible bravery

I COMPLETELY agree with your correspondent G Leather (Daily Post Letters, June 4) and their letter about the incredible bravery of mum Carol Saldinack.

To turn your sons into the police for a crime must be one of the hardest things any parent can imagine, yet she found the strength to do this because she knew it was not only the right thing to do for their victim but because she could see it was the only way to save her sons themselves.

Too many parents turn a blind eye to their children’s wrongdoing or want to believe their lies.

Mrs Saldinack should be held up as an example of good parenting at a time when there seems to be so little of it around.

K Shaw (Mrs), via email