Letters to the Editor

SIR - The article by Helen Mead (T&A, June 15) on the number of tourists visiting Bradford was very interesting. Apart from the usual tourist destinations it may come as a surprise to some but there are visitors coming to Bradford for the fabric and yarn shops.

One internet group has recently had lengthy discussions on the best places to visit on a day trip to Bradford. Another group of ladies came three weeks ago and were really impressed with the service and friendliness of the staff at Sakhi Babas new fabric store.

The young man, one of the owners, took them to Bombay Stores using his own transport. Now that is service.

May I suggest the proprietors of mill shops, fabric shops and yarn shops contact the e-mail address given in the article to register their entries? There are not as many as there used to be but in comparison with some areas of the country we are well served. I include Shipley and Keighley because of their proximity to Bradford.

You never know, these visitors may find it worth their while to stay overnight in order to visit all the listed places.

Denise Musk, Fernbank Drive, Baildon.

Noisy exhausts

SIR- In earlier times a small car which made a lot of noise had something wrong with it, and drivers were prosecuted.

Now, people with fewer brain cells than cylinders buy costly exhaust fitments to make their cars noisy. These gadgets are equivalent to having a defective exhaust system. A large hole in the silencer would have the same effect and would cost nothing.

Has the law which prohibits noisy exhausts been revoked? Why are such products made, sold, and bought with no other objective than to make cars noisy?

L Hobsbaum, Willow Crescent, Bradford.

Bus or train?

SIR - CV Barton (T&A, June 8) may have observed far more people boarding the train for Bradford at Burley-in-Wharfedale than Baildon simply because the bus services from Baildon are good, whereas the bus services from Burley-in-Wharfedale are not what they were.

Iain Morris, Caroline Street, Saltaire.

Wrong place, Bob

SIR - Instead of holding his protest in Edinburgh, Geldof would be better staging it in Harare or perhaps Pretoria to insist that their presidents should return to the people all the money they have deposited in Swiss and other bank accounts. It is useless to hand out large sums of money while knowing corrupt leaders and others line their pockets with it. By all means cancel debts but make it clear no money can be lent in the future if repayments cannot be made.

P E Bird, Nab Wood Terrace, Shipley.

Global problem

SIR - Your report on the efforts of the Council to produce a climate change policy (T&A, June 15) was welcome. I do hope that the Executive accept the draft proposals when they are published in December and Bradford can then make its contribution to tackling a global problem.

Keith Thomson, Heights Lane, Bradford.

Okay to be dour

SIR - The thoughts of the Bradford Bard, aka Mike Priestley (T&A, June 9) on the changing nature of his efforts over the years were most entertaining in that it's not unusual for writers to become a little more morose as time goes by. Another pretty good scribbler produced plays like King Lear and the Scottish Play late in life which were a world away from A Midsummer Night's Dream of earlier vintage. Shakespeare's Bottom is okay but the need to strike a suitably critical note at some of the daft and dreadful features of our times with some serious comment is paramount and something which gives our T&A an ideal balanced quality.

So there's nowt wrong in being a bit dour - it goes with the territory!

Sid Brown, Glenhurst Road, Shipley.

Full support

SIR - On behalf of the Denholme Rural Crafters, I wish to put right an impression given in a report (T&A, June 8) headlined Craft Rejection.

This referred to a rejection by the Denholme Town Council of a request for use of the council chambers at the Mechanics Institute for an exhibition of craft items at their open day in November.

While the facts are correct, the way it was reported gave the impression that Denholme Town Council did not support the rural crafters.

We should like to correct this impression and state that we have always had their full support, for which we are very grateful.

June Milligan, chairman, Denholme Rural Crafters, Main Road, Denholme.