ANOTHER blow for common sense and justice! In the same week, the activities of two teachers have been reported.
One, with the knowledge and support of her headteacher, engaged her less than willing pupils by involving them in a project which, though somewhat risque, inspired in them an appreciation of literature.
The other, in an isolated world of his own, displayed inappropriate behaviour towards young girls in his charge.
She made her pupils feel valued and successful and lost her job. He made his pupils feel uneasy and threatened and kept his.
Is it any wonder that the teaching profession has lost respect over the years and that the General Teaching Council is among the first quangos to be ditched?
Alan Starr
Golcar
Perils of smoking
AS I was walking on the towpath at Slaithwaite towards Marsden recently I saw three girls, probably aged about 14, having a cigarette on the canal bank.
It took me back 50 years to my last year at Fartown Secondary Modern School and our experiments with cigarettes behind the prefab.
Most of us found smoking to be a waste of time and money but one girl, Sarah, took to it like a duck to water.
Sarah was the most beautiful girl I have ever seen and I fell in love with her on our first meeting. She was the life and soul of the party and was surrounded by male admirers and suitors who vied for her affections. I had to stand in her shadow.
As we drifted through our teenage years Sarah would dance the night away at the Regent Ballroom on a Saturday night and I would admire her from a distance.
She could play the acoustic guitar better than anyone I know, she was into sports and could outrun me with ease. At ten-pin bowling she was unbeatable.
Sarah had it all – stamina, beauty and charm. Eventually she married a bank manager and had three children and his job took them to a town in Lancashire.
We kept in touch through the years and she looked upon me as a brother. If Sarah had a flaw in her character it was that she smoked cigarettes.
Sarah continued to smoke after the antibiotics failed to dislodge the persistent tickly cough that racked her body.
She continued to smoke after the X-ray showed up a shadow on her right lung.
When the biopsy revealed that she had an aggressive form of lung cancer she stopped smoking, but only because the doctors would not give her chemotherapy unless she did.
She knew she had a fight on her hands and she decided to fight it alone. We lost contact.
During the course of my work I had occasion to visit a hospice in the Lancaster area and as I signed the visitors’ book a name on the opposite page sprang out – Sarah’s. Her daughter had signed out 20 minutes before. I asked a nurse if I could see her. She was in a side ward alone and close to death.
Sarah had lost over four stones in weight. The once beautiful lady was a shadow of her former self. The painkilling drugs caused her to drift in and out of consciousness but the pain in her face was obvious. She could not see me because the tumour had travelled to her brain and she was blind. I held her frail hand and touched her gold wedding ring that I had dreamed of placing there. With a heavy heart I left Sarah alone to make her peace with her God, knowing I would not see her again.
I said nothing to the three girls. Perhaps I should have warned them against smoking. Nobody would want what happened to Sarah to happen to them.
Garry Coupland
Slaithwaite
Voting alternatives
CLR David Woodhead seems to want reasons why we should keep our ‘first past the post’ voting system (Examiner, March 18). Well, here are a few.
Our present system creates strong government, something Lib Dems have little experience of. It is simple to understand, excludes extremist parties and is fair – one person, one vote. It is the most widely used system throughout the world and is quick and easy to count.
I will remind him what Nick Clegg said about the AV (Alternative Vote) system before the last General Election: “It is a miserable little compromise.’’
Chris Huhne, a Lib Dem member of the Coalition Cabinet, said: “The Alternative Vote does not give voters real power.’’
Come on David, who are we to believe? This is a silly side issue!
Basil Smith
Prospective Kirklees candidate, Holme Valley North Ward
Thanks from the Copleys
ON behalf of myself and the Copley family I would like to thank Kirklees Council for at last acknowledging the contribution that Sam Copley made to the town of Huddersfield at the recent ceremony at the Town Hall.
The Examiner editorial comment on March 12 reflected on the importance of the events so long ago and what might have been had the ultimate purchase not been possible by the people of the town.
As many of the descendants of Sam attending the unveiling of the graphic panel were visiting the town of Huddersfield for the first time, a tour of the district was achieved on the morning of the ceremony. Thanks to Julian Brown, the Castle Hill Ranger, for allowing us the opportunity to view the town from the top of the Victoria Tower. Thanks also to Robin and Christine Gallagher for a tour of their wonderful historic home, Longley Old Hall, which was previously the home of the Ramsden family and the only part of the town not included in the purchase.
I would also like to thank Mr Muffet, the owner of the property in Berry Brow, for allowing us to place a blue plaque on the building telling about Sam Copley and the purchase of Huddersfield.
Further praise must be given to Richard Butterfield of Kirklees Museums for his design of the graphic panel, The Town That Bought Itself, now mounted in a prominent position for all to view in the Town Hall, signifying the true benevolence of the man from Berry Brow.
Philip Kaye
Fixby
Electoral backlash
WHY is the local Lib Dem party apparently unsupportive of such Government initiatives as the Localism Bill while insisting we must all vote for proportional representation and the alternative vote?
Could this be double standards in which the politicians consider they know best on the imposition of the nefarious Local Development Framework? Do they not read such Examiner articles as the public’s revolt at Castle Hill, covered in Monday’s paper?
Quite clearly from the public’s inferences to date, there will most certainly be an election backlash to their current unpopular local planning policies/election issues.
Alan Knight
Lingards Community Association
Flying the business flag
WHAT an exciting and wonderful opportunity for the three students from Greenhead College to be competing in a Business Studies worldwide final in Hong Kong!
Competing against teams from the rest of the world, they are flying the flag for Huddersfield and Yorkshire. I wish you the best of luck.
Lord Sugar and Yorkshire business people could do worse than keep an eye on these talented students in the future.
Having said that, I am slightly biased because one of these students happens to be my granddaughter!
David Barraclough
Waterloo
Helping save the world
ON behalf of the RSPB I would like to say a big thank you to all those Examiner readers who were among the 355,773 people nationally who signed the RSPB’s recent ‘Letter to the Future’ to the government asking for help to save our natural world.
‘Saving nature’ may sound like a huge undertaking. But the thought of future generations not hearing a cheeky house sparrow cheeping or having the opportunity to see creatures like polar bears and tigers is terribly sad.
It’s an incredibly challenging time for the environment with widespread budget cuts but it’s vital that governments invest in a healthy economy and a healthy environment. As well as protecting jobs, the RSPB wants them to tackle climate change and protect our seas, countryside and wildlife.
And it’s fantastic that so many of your readers showed that they too care deeply about nature by signing up to the letter asking for smart spending decisions.
Their efforts are greatly appreciated and already they’ve helped with tangible successes like fending off cuts to environmental schemes that support farmland birds. The government can’t afford to ignore so many of us asking for what we deserve – a healthy natural world for ourselves and our children.
And we’re not stopping here. The RSPB has just launched its biggest campaign to date – Stepping Up for Nature. The concept is simple, it’s about all of us taking small steps to help save nature.
I look forward to joining forces with you all once again. For more information visit www.rspb.org.uk/stepup2020
Kate Humble
RSPB President
Local searches
I AGREE with Clr Christine Smith (Mailbag, March 23) about the European Union ruling on Kirklees now being unable to charge for local searches.
The Examiner article gave the impression that the tribunal case was a waste of resources. I was told by the legal department that they had been advised by a QC that they had an arguable case and they got an important ruling limiting what could be expected of local authorities by personal search companies.
Clr Tony Woodhead
Lindley
