MY name is Diane Hornsey, I am 51. My lungs collapsed 2 years ago, I lost my job, and then my joints seemed to never recover and have been diagnosed with fibromyalgia and arthritis.
Pottery classes have been my saviour because it is very good exercise to help keep my fingers and joints from seizing up and it takes my mind of the rest of the pain by pushing me forward towards creating my next masterpiece.
It is very relaxing to go to pottery and I am the mother of a son with special needs, Gavin.
I introduced Gavin into pottery last September and he took to it like a duck to water. But now Kirklees College is to take that away from him and me.
The college has broken something in our hearts and made a dent into our souls. I speak for both myself and Gavin, who cannot read or write. We have found new friends at the Adult Education Centre in Holmfirth. Sue Jenkins is the heart of the Holmfirth Art Week. Her students’ pottery classes are her life and without this the college will be taking away the breath of the creativity which we have all become a part of in our beautiful village of Holmfirth.
It has taken me along time to find something Gavin can enjoy and sit for long enough to keep him occupied. Pottery has done this, and now is being taken away.
It costs Gavin £100 per term but it is worth it to see the excitement in his face with his new creations, especially when it goes in to be fired and comes out of the kiln ready to paint with the variety of oxides and glazes. There is so much to pottery. It is an ongoing learning process. It is art.
Gavin is 27 years old and has ADHD so his attention span is very limited, but Sue’s pottery classes have helped to mould Gavin into a more laidback individual, who now has a little more time for himself and others.
So please keep the pottery classes going, don’t just dismiss it as if it is nothing. It is very much needed by so many people.
Diane Hornsey
Huddersfield
Town denied by greed
I WHOLEHEARTED agree with David Turner (Mailbag, June 1) that Town earned the right to be promoted by finishing third from the top in their league and it is only through the greed of the football league that they didn’t.
I could not believe how expensive the tickets were for the final at Old Trafford, plus expecting the supporters to pay out for the ‘two leg’ games in the earlier play-off round – and this after paying for a full season.
I think all the teams in all of the divisions of the football league should protest to the FA that this practice of play-offs should be abolished and teams are promoted purely on merit over the number of matches played, as is the rule in most other sports.
Just as a final point, if the teams third to sixth at the top of a division play off, why don’t the bottom six to three do the same – but don’t tell the football league as they may get ideas.
Casual observer
Waterloo
Man with no shame
A MAN with no shame cannot be shamed and turkeys do not vote for Christmas.
Well, that explains the outcome of the FIFA Presidential election then.
Mr Blatter, who clearly sees himself as being above the common herd, is proud to take office for another four years having beaten his opponent in a free and fair election.
The fact that his only opponent was suspended from seeking office before the ‘election’ following allegations which will take time to investigate – while similar allegations made against Mr Blatter were considered and dismissed in a matter of hours – is of no consequence to El Presidente.
Meanwhile, a large majority of FIFA delegates were happy to vote for Mr Blatter.
Since most of these people are nonentities outside of the world of FIFA, but enjoy considerable advantages and luxury within it, it is not really surprising that they display no hunger for change.
It may certainly be principled, but is rarely profitable, to bite the hand that feeds you. Arguably, a proportion of FIFA delegates are all too prepared to put profit before principle.
Bill Armer
Deighton
Home Care changes
READING the report referring to the privatisation of home care to vulnerable people brings home some pleasant memories but also some very sad and stressing ones too.
Five and a half years ago my partner of many years had a stroke, which hospitalised her for quite a few months.
On coming out of hospital, she had to be rehoused into downstairs accommodation with me acting as 24-hour carer.
She was attended to in the morning and evening by a team of home care ladies provided by Kirklees. We had to subscribe to this by the way.
Working in teams of two, these wonderful ladies – most of them locals – over a period of two to three months became like part of the family, adored and, most of all, trusted by my partner and me.
Two years later, after several short stays in hospital, my partner was hospitalised once again, this time for over five weeks.
On returning home we were informed that Kirklees could no longer provide her with the care as she would need more visits and that an outside agency would be taking over.
I expressed my concern about the change as I was deeply worried about the stress my partner would feel and the fact that we would lose the trust and friendship that had built up. It left us feeling empty, like a death in the family.
Needless to say we were abandoned to the care of a ‘Mickey Mouse’ outfit which I will not name.
My partner by this time was requiring four visits a day.
In the first two weeks I counted 13 different staff. Three were up to the standard that we were accustomed to, but the rest fell far below.
My partner was distraught. Not only was her care not the way it used to be, she seemed unable to strike up a similar relationship as before.
I still feel that the change had everything to do with her gradual decline in her health, putting her under stress, not knowing which individuals might be coming to attend her.
The people who make these decisions have obviously never been through a situation like I have described otherwise they would not succumb to it.
Either that or they just don’t give a damn.
Bryan Akroyd
Lindley
Rising food prices
OXFAM has predicted significant food price increases in the next 20 years, a threat to poor people all over the world.Š
They are probably right, but not for the reasons they cite. Periodical global warming historically leads to rising cereal crop yields. As there has been no significant global warming since 1995, it would seem there will be no relief from that scenario. However, the massive shift to turning agricultural land over to bio fuel production – in short burning food – has already seen a dramatic increase in food prices.Š
Add to this the forthcoming increases in energy prices – mainly self-inflicted by a misunderstanding of politicians on its causes and effect – means poor people are in for a bad time. Š
Godfrey Bloom
UKIP MEP for Yorkshire
Watch Olympics on TV
I’VE read how disappointed some people are at not being able to get tickets for the 2012 Olympic games.
Lets face it, living in Yorkshire, how on earth would any ordinary working person and their family be able to afford to go to the Olympic games. It would cost them thousands.
Just consider if they travelled by car. On top of that the price of fuel, there will be parking charges and congestion charges.
If they go by train, one can expect to pay extortionate rail prices and when they get to London there will be guaranteed inflated hotel prices, inflated food, drink and snack prices and that’s not including the ridiculous price of the tickets to get into the venues.
Let’s face it, you couldn’t even get a loan to go see the games because the banks are not lending. It would be cheaper to book a fortnight holiday abroad and watch it on TV.
Alan Parkinson
Lower Cumberworth
Help for hedgehogs
WE were pleased to see in the Huddersfield Daily Examiner on May 26 your article on allowing some stinging nettles in the garden to help wildlife such as hedgehogs. They need all the help they can get.
An alarming new report, The State of Britain’s Hedgehogs, provides evidence that their numbers have declined by at least a quarter in the last 10 years.
A large part of the problem is fragmentation of habitat because of our obsession with neater gardens. A gap in the bottom of walls or fences will allow hedgehogs access. They regularly roam a mile a night so joined up gardens are essential.
We have just launched a brand new project called Hedgehog Street asking people to think about the way they garden and care for their green spaces. We have got together with the People’s Trust for Endangered Species to launch this initiative, which aims to empower whole communities – encouraged by volunteer Hedgehog Champions – to take small steps to improving their neighbourhood for hedgehogs in a bid to create a giant patchwork of hedgehog-friendly areas across the British Isles.
To see what the project is all about, to get a free Hedgehog Street pack or to volunteer to be a Hedgehog Champion, please log onto www.hedgehogstreet.org
Fay Vass
Chief Executive, British Hedgehog Preservation Society
