Letters to the Editor

I wonder where he got this figure from? Even if the figure attending the march in London was two million, that still leaves around 54 million who didn't march. All the polls I have seen or heard do not come anywhere near 90 per cent.

Next we have the usual rant from Mubarik Iqbal. Does she write a new letter to you each time, or do you just reprint the previous one? Oh, the joys of living in a country of free speech!

Then comes the letter from Michael Green, whom I couldn't agree more with. What have we done to deserve such a council? If the councillors were as interested in dealing with the boring job of actually running Bradford as its residents want it to be run as they are in grandiose schemes, perhaps we could have a city to be proud of.

Perhaps they could start by turning the semi-demolished Rawson Market into a car park and getting some revenue from it.

What an entertaining page Letters to the Editor is!

D Hargreaves, Middlebrook Crescent, Bradford 8

SIR - I live on the edge of the Thorpe Edge estate. The houses have mostly been bought but there are still some tenants. Like Ravenscliffe, these bought houses have been well looked after, and people have made them their pride and joy.

But how long will it before some developer makes an offer for the land, like they have for Ravenscliffe?

Ravenscliffe - is it the worthless place they would like to believe? In fact Ravenscliffe and its tenants are sitting on a very valuable piece of real estate.

Other tenants and owners of council properties beware - they want your homes and gardens.

S Watmough, Harrogate Road, Greengates.

SIR - I refer to the article by Rosey Hamilton (January 22) about the Holocaust memorial event. It mentioned that candles were lit for the "six million Jews, gypsies and non-conformists who were murdered by the Nazis."

What about the six million Poles who were also murdered by the Nazis? Don't they deserve to be remembered also? The article states that the Lord Mayor said "that the city must be tolerant and reject anti-Semitism and Islamaphobia".

What about the issue of anti-Polonism, which is so slyly creeping in on the world? The omission of any mention of the Polish people, who suffered so terribly in the last war, in a memorial event to the Holocaust is surely an act of anti-Polonism perpetrated by the very people who vociferate so stridently against anti-Semitism.

Elizabeth Foster, Grasleigh Avenue, Allerton.

SIR - The claim that the USA and Britain are preparing for war with Iraq because they aspire to controlling its oil supplies is probably too simplistic. Certainly both countries are net importers of oil and the stability of the Middle East is viewed as strategically important.

However, America's declaration of war against terror was not only as a response to September 11 but also as a means of protecting itself against further attacks.

Within this context, war preparations being made against Iraq are to be viewed as a continuation of the above.

It cannot be denied that Iraq's regime is a brutal one, showing little regard for its own people. It is probably also true that Iraq has stockpiled large quantities of chemical and biochemical weapons, but no conclusive evidence had been produced that nuclear weapons have been manufactured.

It is also doubtful whether a secular state like Iraq would foster contacts with extreme religious groups like al Qaida.

Therefore within this context it may prove counter-productive to wage war with Iraq, as the hostility of the Arab world would be provoked, increasing the possibility of further terrorist outrages.

Alec Suchi, Allerton Road, Allerton

SIR - If congestion charging is going to be part of everyday commuter life, then wages will have to go up and public transport will have to be improved to cope with the influx of more people using services.

There are a lot of workers using the buses and trains already. Some early and late night shift workers cannot or want to afford the cost of a car. It's out of the working hours of the bus companies.

If Bradford is to become a 24-hour city, why don't the bus company First be the first to run a bus service in Bradford for 24 hours a day, seven days a week?

I am sure there are a lot of workers and unemployed are kept back to improve their working life and job prospects because they rely on public transport to get them to and from work.

Martin Palliser, Waincliffe House, Laisterdyke.

SIR - Thousands of people are robbed of their sight each year due to age-related macular degeneration - the leading cause of registration for blindness in the UK.

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence's latest ruling means that people are being robbed of their sight and may now have no chance of receiving an effective treatment which could halt their sight loss.

The latest decision by the institute means that thousands of people in the UK will continue to be denied free access to an effective treatment which could preserve their sight - photodynamic therapy.

Why is it that this therapy, a licensed treatment already approved as effective, is freely available to patients in Europe but not to all patients who would benefit the UK?

The Macular Disease Society has been consulting with the National Institute for Clinical Excellence for over a year to ensure free access to this treatment on the NHS, for all who could benefit, but the institute has not listened. During this time several thousand people have become seriously visually impaired or have registered as blind.

How many more patients have to suffer before the institute will reconsider its decision?

J Deardon, Uplands Crescent, Queensbury.

For details of the Bradford branch of the Macular Disease Society contact Jim Illingworth on 01274 602340.

SIR - The New Year is a time for resolutions but we all know that they rarely last beyond February. This year you can make a decision that will help your favourite charity long into the future.

Many of you will have experienced the support of a charity in the past year and may be looking for a way to say thank you. One-off donations are an instant way to show your support, indeed 70 per cent of us regularly give money to charity in our lifetime, but did you know that leaving money to charity in your will is equally quick and easy?

Charitable bequests are the single biggest source of voluntary income for charities in the UK, but these are under threat in the current economic climate. That is why I am supporting Remember A Charity, a campaign backed by a consortium of nearly 90 charities, to increase the number of wills that include a donation to charity. Without your support, the services that charities provide could come to an end.

So in 2003, why not give your favourite charity the ultimate gift and remember them in your will?

William Roache MBE, on behalf of Remember a Charity

SIR - Does anybody remember Gentleman Jim Watson, the gentle wrestler who was very popular on the wrestling circuit?

Jim now lives in Filey and is 70 on Thursday, February 27. If anyone would like to wish him all the best please contact Wendy on 01723 512034 or bonhommes@talk21.com. or at the address below, or if anyone has any newspaper cuttings etc please let me know.

Wendy Rhodes (proprietor), Bon hommes, The Crescent, Filey, North Yorkshire.

SIR - The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association has been overwhelmed with the support of readers of your paper calling for an end to the disruption caused by the misuse of fireworks. I would personally like to thank any readers who have signed our 'Regulate Fireworks Now' petition, which has amassed more than 75,000 signatures nationwide.

We now face our largest challenge: to ensure that more than 100 MPs vote in favour of the Fireworks Bill, which is being tabled by Bill Tynan MP, and gets its Second Reading in the House of Commons on Friday, February 28.

Anyone who feels passionately that we need to regulate the way fireworks are used in this country is invited to attend a mass lobby at the House of Commons on Thursday, February 27, from 12 noon to 3pm. By joining us then and lobbying your local MP, you could encourage them to vote in favour of the Bill the following day and help end fireworks misery.

If you would like to join us for the mass lobby or would like any further information on how you can help, contact 0118 983 8364 or e-mail nicky.brown@gdba.org.uk

Geraldine Peacock, Chief Executive, The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, Reading, Berkshire.