I WONDER how long it is since Michelle Poucher and her husband and family visited the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Quite some time I should think if she thinks it is “free to walk around outdoors”. There has been a car park charge for some time which we have willingly paid for. I have to admit it is such a lovely spot.

However on a visit this week we were stunned to find that a huge increase had been levied at visitors which is £2.50 for one hour, £5 for 1-2 hours and £7.50 for the day.

It was noticeable that there were far fewer visitors than on our previous visits and the shop and lovely but expensive restaurant were empty.

After all no one with only two hours to spare wants to while away time there. A number plate recognition system is now in operation.

We have been regular visitors for years but no more I am afraid.

It will be Cannon Hall in future which has much cheaper parking and is always well attended.

Former visitor

Cowlersley

Invest in young people

MANY readers will have noticed that within the overall unemployment figures recently released, there is an additional 20,000 young people looking for work since December, bringing the number of young unemployed to nearly one million.

All young people have dreams and aspirations and behind every individual statistic is a human story.

There is a lack of opportunity for this generation with our young people facing the prospect of long term unemployment and the consequent erosion of self-worth, hope and aspiration.

However, experience shows that when we show faith in young people and provide opportunities to develop skills and resilience, then our investment is more than repaid. Without this investment our social capital falls and civic society suffers.

In the Boys’ Brigade, as in other youth organisations, we provide opportunities to develop relevant life skills, whether it be leadership, communication or team work; skills that are vital for job interviews, the workplace and society in general.

We also recognise the importance of providing a time and place where young people can relax and take part in fun and challenging activities.

Investing in our young people is important – not just financially, but investing our time and efforts to ensure they have the skills and confidence to make the best start in life.

However, like all youth organisations, additional volunteers would enable us to reach more young people. If we all gave a little of our time, it will make for a better country, not just for the young, but for all of us.

Steve Dickinson,

Chief Executive, The Boys’ Brigade

Famous Fenella

I NOTE from our local paper that Leonora Rustomova (Examiner April 29) is now writing a book about Yorkshire’s Strangest Tales.

In her book Leonora mentions Fenella, the Holmfirth tiger in the 1940s.

My old friend, the late Bill Peabody, who once owned Joes Cycles in the centre of Holmfirth, once told me about Fenella when I first met him.

He talked about how Fenella once held up a funeral cortege by laying in the middle of the road.

Who would move a large tiger – and how she loved fish and chips.

The Overend sisters would go for them themselves with the tiger and give the tiger a treat as well. No salt and vinegar on them, I take it.

Bill told me as well that the tiger was in the back garden and if it roared the postman would run like hell away from the house.

I wish Leonora luck with her new book.

COLIN VAUSE

Marsh

Natural change

GLOBAL warming is a myth to make money.

Climate change is a natural phenomenon that has been going on since the beginning of time. At the moment we are getting cold and possibly going into another ice age but then it will get hotter. I wish people would stop panicking.

Tess

Huddersfield

Taxing times

IF ALL this polar ice cap melting tosh had any credibility how come it is only a couple of weeks since it had extended south beyond Meltham.

If this is a pattern for the future we will soon have polar bears raiding our bins.

Those of us who lived through the sixties and seventies might remember the bearded expert scientists spouting their evidence that we were heading for another ice age.

Climate change claims are nothing more than an excuse for taxation to fund wacky projects which appease the greenies.

Tates

Huddersfield

Fight for NHS

THE farce of the tendering process for the private sector to run laboratory services for Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust is just a taste of things to come.

The Health and Social Care Bill, that has recently become law, forces competition on to the NHS. Lawyers and private sector providers are set to gain at the expense of taxpayers and our most valued institution. This unnecessary legislation is clearly designed to fatally damage the founding principles of the NHS, so that it will no longer exist, other than as a brand name.

As private sector providers cherry pick the least complex procedures, and will be able to sue under competition law if they can’t, NHS providers will be increasingly put under strain in receiving limited funding for the most complex procedures.

This new financial strain, coupled with the Bill allowing NHS providers to increase their income through private provision, will lead to a two tier health system, where those who cannot afford to pay for treatment will be at the back of the queue.

The government that has passed this legislation has allegedly attempted to suppress publication of a report that showed the NHS is one of the world’s most efficient health care systems; it didn’t fit their agenda.

Many of our parliamentarians have vested interests in private health care providers, as do donors to the Conservative party.

Per capita, we spend less than half the amount they spend in the USA on health (and get better outcomes), yet this government is leading us to their market model.

The survivors of two world wars chose to make this nation truly great. They left us a legacy through the Welfare State and the NHS; they knew the suffering of those injured in the First World War, who fought for this nation, only to be left begging on street corners and denied decent healthcare in peace time.

They wanted better for themselves, and better for us. We owe it to them, and we owe it to our children’s children to protect that legacy.

I’m proud to be from a nation that founded the NHS. But we need to fight to keep it.

Geoff Halliday

Left Unity Huddersfield