Letters to the Editor

SIR - As the Royal British Legion once again undertake this year's Poppy Appeal, I am writing to ask readers for their continued support for this cause.

This year is, if course, a significant anniversary marking the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.

Last year the Poppy Appeal raised a record total of £23,529,386 thanks to the generosity of the public and the invaluable support provided by many thousands of volunteers.

The Royal British Legion will always be there, not only to help servicemen affected by the World Wars and conflicts over the years but also those injured or traumatised in more recent operations in Afghanistan, Bosnia or Iraq and to support their families during the difficult transition back to civilian life.

Many of those who traditionally volunteer their services to the Legion are themselves becoming elderly and more volunteers are needed each year to replace those too old to continue.

Anyone over 16 years of age can help, they only need to ring free- phone 0800 085 5924.

Poppies are available to the public from hundreds of outlets in the Bradford Metropolitan District and I urge your readers to give as generously as they can to help ensure the success of this year's Appeal.

Coun Valerie Binney, Lord Mayor of Bradford, City Hall, Bradford.

Hazards riddle

SIR - Several yellow "danger" notices have recently been affixed to the exterior of the Odeon building warning "trespassers" that the site contains "serious hazards".

The building has been boarded up securely for over five years and as far as I can see no attempts have ever been made to break in, so why this sudden security concern?

In the past we have been led to believe the Odeon building is rife with asbestos and is structurally unsound. How these alarming facts have ever been truly established is a mystery.

The Arup report carried out on the building's overall condition last year was solely based on an examination of just the towers, not the actual cinema as Maud Marshall (BCR) had us originally believe!

The recent avalanche of "Keep the Odeon" letters in these pages won't have made comfortable reading for Ms Marshall.

So these sudden "danger" signs are probably yet another desperate attempt by the BCR to dupe the people of Bradford into believing that the Odeon building is a death-trap that needs to be wiped off the face of the earth.

What is the truth?

Mark Nicholson, Clayfield Drive, Bradford.

Answers, please

SIR - Yet another "vision" for the new Bradford (T&A, November 1). This time it's Bradford College which has designs (of the wrong sort, of course) on the Odeon site. This raises a number of questions:

1. Is it really just another "concept"?

2. When will these plans be made public?

3. How far have they been discussed with Yorkshire Forward, Bradford Centre Regeneration, and the City Council? And what was their reaction?

4. Do they necessitate demolition?

The thousands of us campaigning to keep the Odeon building, and see it restored, not least the Bradford Odeon Rescue Group (BORG), deserve some answers.

Kenneth A Webster, Abb Scott Lane, Bradford.

We do miss Gareth

SIR - I was very disappointed to learn that Gareth Gates won't be at the Christmas lights switch-on this year, especially as it is so long since any of his fans have seen him perform.

A number of us have travelled miles from all parts of the country to stand in all weathers just to catch a glimpse of Gareth and hear his wonderful voice.

Gareth is certainly being kept under wraps until he comes back in the New Year with his third album.

All I can say is roll on the New Year and Gareth's comeback as all his fans are missing him so much. Come back soon Gareth, we are still waiting patiently for you.

Elaine Rollins, Bullwell Crescent, Cheshunt, Herts.

This tram is a bus!

SIR - Surely someone on your staff remembers trams? By definition they run on rails.

Why do you continue referring to the battery electric minibus presently roaming the city centre as a tram? It's a smaller version of ones tried in Leeds over 25 years ago.

The makers hope to develop it into a guided bus for inner-city use - but it'll still be a bus since it won't run on rails!

R S Ledgard, Main Street, Haworth.

Ban fireworks

SIR - Unfortunately too many people in Bradford have no concept of responsibility or decency.

It's not just 'hooligans' with a few bangers, it's adults who spend hundreds of pounds on huge fireworks designed to mimic gunfire and make the loudest noise possible.

Accident figures don't take account of the human misery caused by fear, sleep deprivation and anger.

Philip Davies MP is shamefully out of touch with the experience of most Bradfordians. His interpretation of them being used 'safely' ignores their widespread anti-social use. Explain that to the people detonating them in built-up areas with children, elderly people and animals nearby.

Increasingly the use of fireworks has an undercurrent of aggression and selfishness, and it's 24/365 in Bradford.

Don't preach about erosion of freedom or personal choice - I want protecting from the idiots who walk into a shop, buy a pound of explosives and set them off whenever they like precisely because they can.

Stop sales to the public now, allow licensed use only. Make possession/use a crime with heavy penalties and watch the quality of life improve.

Andrew Milne, Randall Place, Heaton.

Give us a voice

SIR - The fiasco over Labour's failure to support Leeds trams exposes the need for a strong regional voice in Yorkshire.

Leeds' congestion problems are shared by Bradford and both cities are crying out for government support for a better transport infrastructure. The money is available but the political will is not.

Hundreds of millions of pounds are going up in smoke in Iraq and huge sums will be spent on London's Olympics.

As Cardiff and Edinburgh come to look resplendent in their devolved clothes, cities like Bradford will look and feel threadbare.

What money there is that is coming to Yorkshire is being spent on re-building the entire secondary school fabric in Bradford, regardless of the recent age of many of the buildings concerned.

The last blueprint for regional government in England fell well short of what is required. We need a better proposal.

However, let's not lose sight of the merits of devolution in principle. Can one doubt that such an assembly would be pressing hard for money to support the right schemes in our region?

Quentin Deakin, Vice-Chairman, Shipley Green Party, Newark Road, Crossflatts, Bingley.

Five to go, David!

SIR - 'The female of the species is more deadly' said that wise writer Rudyard Kipling and Ross ('not as 'ard as we thought') Kemp's black eye is surely testimony to this.

Thankfully David Blunkett's second fall from grace this time didn't involve the gentle sex but simply financial greed.

He's got five more resignations to go as I believe there are, in total, seven deadly sins - although 'being found out' is often seen as the eighth!

Sid Brown, Glenhurst Road, Shipley.

It's not over yet...

SIR - I would not bet that David Blunkett has hung up his boots yet.

Having dabbled in the shares market and gained valuable financial knowledge, I could see him returning as Chancellor when Gordon Brown moves out.

That would be a better comeback than Lazarus.

Gary Lorriman, North Walk, Harden.