I READ with interest Richard Nicholls’ Senior Moment (November 21) relating to the manner in which money is raised for Children in Need on the Wogan Show on BBC Radio 2.

Last year I wrote to the Terry Wogan show expressing the exact same points.

Millions of people throughout this land donate through their efforts, (running, shaving beards off, sitting in baths of beans etc) a vast amount of money to this very worthwhile cause and don’t ask for any recognition in return.

The very fact that they do this is in my opinion is extremely laudable and shows the kind of spirit we would wish to encourage in this land, to try and help those less fortunate than ourselves without needlessly drawing attention to ourselves for making the effort.

My suggestion was that they could donate one of the prizes that “money cannot buy” to the individuals who raise the most money in set areas.

This was largely ignored and the reply from the show was to the effect that not everyone will agree with the way the programme is run but we have to do the best we can to raise as much money for the cause.

It would appear that those who have money can afford to donate huge sums of money in the knowledge that they will get one of the prizes that “money cannot buy” without doing anything more than putting pen to cheque.

In doing so they are seeking some reward for the donation, some anonymously, but still take the prize. But in other cases it appears they are only seeking some form of publicity for the donation.

It’s such a shame that the Wogan Show obviously encourages this by continuing with this type of fundraising.

To give to charity is just that, giving, not seeking a reward for doing so.

DAC

Salendine Nook

Any road, about the traffic ...

I RODE my bicycle down the length of New Hey Road/Trinity Street/Westbourne Road the other day. Extreme sports, white-knuckle racing cyclists could easily exceed the 30mph speed limit, but the chances of making it into town unscathed would be slim.

There are many disasters just waiting to happen due to the dozens of fast food establishments. Hungry motorists carelessly park, pull in, pull out and generally behave without due care and attention.

Things get a whole lot worse in Marsh as the cycle lane vanishes and the road inexplicably narrows with those idiotic pavement extension things, whose only apparent purpose is to throttle the flow of traffic to a stuttering single file and kill cyclists.

Absurdly, in places the pavement seems to be wider than the road.

If our masters want to turn Marsh into a pedestrianised shopping precinct they should have first given some thought on what to do with the high volume of traffic (you know; cars, lorries, buses and that).

I survived this nerve-shattering descent into town, so went for a celebratory pint at the Head of Steam and to check up on the pink granite.

I was horrified to see that the taxis that queue up adjacent to the pub have been dribbling indelible engine oil all over our lovely new setts. C’mon guys, clean up your act. If Clr Ken Sims gets to hear about this there’ll be trouble.

Uncle Grumpy

Golcar

A tale of the high seas

ONLY some 12 months ago Capt ‘Jock’ Brown was trying to navigate his Tyne tramp steamer Northern Wreck through stormy seas and by plugging all the leaking holes with taxpayers’ cash did he keep it afloat.

Since then, as a token of his success, he’s been promoted by Plimsoll Line to pilot his latest super carrier Sillius Star.

Just recently, while cruising happily just off the Thames Estuary with his trusty crew – Harriet his purser, ‘Prezza’ the chief steward, Geoff his stoker, Alistair his cabin boy and Hazel the grinning ship’s cat – the vessel was attacked by a bunch of dastardly pirates led by a chap called Sir Fred, accompanied by a motley band of whizz-kid bankers and traders, dysfunctionals, the workshy and even teenage women with small children clinging to their skirts.

“Give us your money or I’ll send you on to those sands over there that were named after me!” said Sir Fred.

Unsure what to do, Capt ‘Jock’ gathered together the hardworking men and women who formed the rest of the crew and asked them to hand over their hard-earned taxed cash and gold so that he could pay off these ruffians.

“Look, Sir Fred, this gold is worth three times the value of the stuff that I sold off earlier!”

And so the pirates went away and the Sillius Star continued its voyage. However, there was a bloody mutiny shortly afterwards. Capt ‘Jock’ was mortally wounded in the fracas and he could be heard whispering to his cabin boy, Alistair ... “Kiss me Darling...!”

GB

Shepley

Not a debt of gratitude

HOW has the dour Scottish highwayman Gordon Brown and his horrible sidekick Prudence turned into Ozymandias (king of kings), a world titan of finance? It beats me how the man who encouraged everyone to live beyond their means for 11 years is now hailed as the saviour of the world by advocating even more borrowing.

This is the same man who has plundered our pension funds, taxed our meagre savings and turned us upside down at every opportunity to see what fell out of our pockets. In short, the grand master of the stealth tax.

Now we know who wrote the text of the junk mail shots you will no doubt have had shoved through your letter box on a regular basis suggesting that you borrow enough money to get out of debt.

I am no financier but even I could see the downside to that arrangement.

All this while shovelling huge sums of money into the greedy banks who are at the heart of the crisis.

The same institutions who are hanging on to this windfall at the expense of businesses large and small and the poor beleaguered mortgage payer.

The obvious outcome of Ozymandias’s great gesture will be to make debtors of all of us. As with all debts there comes a day of reckoning when the loans are called in. Who pays? You guessed it; us.

Edward Livingstone

Newsome

Bid for popularity

SO, not content with having squandered the strongest economy in British history “Prudence” Brown is now mortgaging the next 15 years as well, in a last desperate attempt to shore up his own popularity.

As usual it’ll be left to the Tories to administer the nasty medicine, like Margaret Thatcher did.

Will we ever learn that Labour governments are never anything but fiscally incompetent and incontinent? All you who voted them in deserve to be at the top of the redundancy list and first to have your homes repossessed.

Richard Huddleston

West Slaithwaite

Ah, such memories

IT might have been a sad occasion in 1961 when Gledholt Mills, Joseph Hoyle and Sons, closed down, but what a nice surprise it was for my family and I to see the photo of my grandad Willie Waite (Memory Lane, Tuesday, November 18).

I never got to meet him as he passed away when my mum was still in her teens.

He would have been a happy man today if he knew he had seven grandchildren and eight great-grandchildren.

Tracey Schofield

Crosland Moor

The mother’s viewpoint

I WAS disappointed to read Hilarie Stelfox’s comments on my daughter’s trainer debate (Examiner November 22) and I hope that once aware of the facts she may reconsider her comments and back up my campaign as I am also a firm believer in discipline at school.

Stephanie was bought a new pair of school shoes in September with one of them being removed from her games kit about a month ago. As most of the pupils in the school wear trainers I allowed Stephanie to wear hers until I could provide her with new shoes.

When Stephanie was singled out for wearing trainers I was given less than 24 hours notice to change them and being a working mother with two other children to support I had neither the time or the money there and then. Stephanie was bought new school shoes that weekend.

The whole point to the story was that if rules are to be enforced then all children and parents should be made aware and some structured steps made so it can be implemented in an appropriate and effective way. Without this consequences to actions will happen ie Stephanie missing her English assessment. You will be pleased to know she has been allowed to re-sit this and gained a C+.

Francine Houston

Linthwaite

Perplexed visitor

I WAS a visitor to Huddersfield on Saturday (Forensic Day at the university; very interesting) and stayed on for a light evening meal and to see the fireworks.

I was astounded to witness the hanging of at least four effigies of people in Market Place. I have to say that when I asked those people watching what it meant they were as disturbed and perplexed as myself.

Then to set fire to the effigies smacks of crime and punishment we haven’t had in the UK for nearly 400 years.

Admittedly, I didn’t get a clear view of the stage and there could have been a valid theatrical reason for the image before me, but I’ve scratched my head and asked others what possible reason there could be.

I know some families were alarmed at the violence of this image and left immediately it became clear what was happening.

We liked the fireworks and the worm with the orange, but unfortunately it’s not our memory of Huddersfield now.

Did I really witness a public hanging and what was the “acceptable” reason for doing this?

Bemused visitor