Letters to the Editor

SIR - Enough of the Odeon debate. The building is as architecturally incongruous in Bradford as will be the ludicrous Alsop designs if adopted by the City. Lord protect us from the crackpots.

But gradually Bradford is definitely improving, and the elegance of its architecture is becoming more evident. Stand in front of the old GPO building (itself a planning mistake) in Forster Square and admire the

elegance of the buildings revealed after the demolition.

Better still, stand in Centenary Square and turn 360 degrees and admire the view all round (Odeon and Police HQ excepted, but both to come down).

Bradford city centre is becoming more aesthetic with new buildings and traditional, with stone walkways and pedestrian-friendly streets. Keep it up, Nothing succeeds like success.

Denis Spence, Mitchell Close, Idle.

No justice here

SIR - It was with some surprise that I read in the T&A on October 28 about the director of a company that had gone bust actually having action taken against him.

Sadly, it was merely a slap on the wrist, ie banning him from management for four years, which, of course, is quite meaningless. What about the £104,000 of his employees' tax and National Insurance money he used to finance his business?

I ran a business in Bradford for 40 years and in that time suffered countless bad debts from "phoenix" companies which went bust on a Friday and re-appeared on Monday with a slightly different name.

The directors of these companies would have spent the last few months of their fraudulent trading topping up their pensions, knowing they couldn't be touched. This would be on the advice of accountants who would also be doing a deal with potential receivers or liquidators, together with the bank, to buy back the assets and stock at a knockdown price, thereby enabling the company to re-start with no debts and every chance of a very profitable future.

Cynical, yes. Justice? Don't make me laugh.

Dave Wood, Station Road, Esholt..

Protect the elderly

SIR - With Remembrance Day shortly upon us, it is right that we turn our attention to remembering those people who paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect our rights and values.

But not everybody who endured war and deprivation died, and many of those who suffered and braved hardships returned to build our society once again. Many women maintained the country during its struggles, and too many found themselves widowed at a young age. These are the people who now rely upon our care and health services for their very existence.

So please, when rightly remembering those who died, spare a moment's thought for the many people aged 70 years and over who are now facing abuse and cruelty at the hands of some families and care staff.

The Commons Health Select Committee earlier this year accepted that as many as 500,000 older people are being abused across the UK. Our charity's helpline (0808 808 8141) takes hundreds of calls each year from people in dire need of help.

We all have a duty to protect them, as they once protected us. Let's never forget!

Gary FitzGerald, Chief Executive, Action on Elder Abuse, London SW16 4ER.

Pointless body

SIR - I am quite amazed by the response of Councillor Val Slater to J Kenny's letter (T&A, October 19).

Coun Slater, distinguishing between the committee of which she is chair, the Council's Regeneration and Economy Improvement Committee and the Bradford Regeneration Company, states that the Council's committee role is to examine and scrutinise the Regeneration Company's proposals, facilitate further debate and to try and influence the final decision.

If a council committee is there purely to do what Coun Slater states, then why have it? What is the point of the Metropolitan District of Bradford electing councillors to a committee which, if I am reading the explanation correctly, has little or no power whatsoever?

Maybe I am completely wrong but I thought that the act of democracy took place when the people of Bradford elected councillors to run the district, not to try to influence private companies to do the job.

J R Fieldhouse, Geraldton Avenue, King's Park, Bradford.

Sparing the rod...

SIR - One of the reasons we currently suffer yobbish behaviour is that people such as your correspondent Annabel Hardy (Letters, October 26) bang on about how parents choose to chastise their children.

Surely she has suffered a day out ruined by having to put up with the appalling behaviour of small children in shops, restaurants and other public places where it is clear the parents have absolutely no control over their offspring?

These children then grow up believing that antisocial behaviour is OK because they weren't punished for it.

Not so long ago minor misdemeanours were dealt with by a short, sharp, shock like a clip round the ear. A more substantial punishment awaited at school if you couldn't be bothered to do your homework!

Does Annabel Hardy consider those of us who survived this atrocious regime to be mentally or physically scarred? More likely the product of those years, in the main, turned into decent law-abiding members of society. Small children learn about human rights by being taught what is and what is not acceptable behaviour. If a clip around the ear is felt to be more effective by the parent in correcting bad behaviour, then that is for them to decide.

Mike Jones, Rylands Avenue, Gilstead, Bingley.

Look out for Mike!

SIR - I see that T&A writer and reviewer Mike Priestley has been at it again - eating out! Now nothing wrong in that, of course, but at the foot of Saturday's Eating Out page is a paragraph stressing that T&A writers expressing their views on meals they consume "do not reveal their identities and pay for their meals in full".

But Mike must be as well known as the town Bellman, to use an old-fashioned saying. Restaurant owners must see him coming unless he is travelling incognito.

One can hear them spotting Mike saying "Aye up, here's Priestley again, bung him some extra chips in, and the best rump."

We went for a meal at the restaurant in question. He was lucky to find any sort of a non-smoking area vacant. A lady we sat next to seemed to light up a cigarette between every chip she ate. Some going that.

The eating house he talks about is very good value, but look out for Mike folks. He's about.

Fred MacLean, Rowantree Drive, Idle.

l Mike Priestley says: "Yes, it could be a problem, but I try to choose restaurants and pubs in areas where I think I am less likely to be spotted and keep a low profile. The dark glasses and rastafarian wig are additional precautions."

Disabled riddle

SIR - Can someone please explain to me, on behalf of our members and the entire community of the disabled, why a disabled person has to have their disablement identified by a doctor, then substantiated by another doctor, before applying for a disabled badge?

Having followed the procedure about which there is no complaint, there is no legislation to protect the user of a disabled badge. To their credit, supermarkets (in particular) provide parking spaces for the disabled which are blatantly ignored.

I am appealing to our MPs to raise the issue in Parliament in the hope that legislation will be enacted to protect the interest of the disabled to end what in other circumstances would be described as a farce. Where is the sense in providing a disabled badge when the provision of parking places is continually abused by the motoring public?

Audrey Raistrick (secretary, Forum Focused on Pensioner Power), Westgate, Victoria Road, Eccleshill.

Send me stamps

SIR - I am collecting used stamps, postcards and picture phone cards for Guide Dogs for the Blind. I was wondering if any of your readers would be kind enough to send me any of their used stamps. Please send all stamps, postcards and picture phone cards to the address below.

Diana Ashton, 66 Highbank, Roe Lee, Blackburn, Lancs BB1 9SX.