Friday's Letters: A postal service that would deliver efficiencies

May I suggest:

A one tier mail, forget first and second class and envelope size variations.

Rates at 50p for the first 100g and an additional 50p for each 100g up to one kilogram.

Stop discount deliveries for competitors (the PO loses money on every item it delivers for DHL, TNT, UK Mail, One Post, etc). Let these companies do their own house to house deliveries and see if they can continue to compete?

The PO should then quote for bulk or blanket contracts at prices that should at least cover costs and preferably make a profit. I am sure they can beat the others with present door-to- door deliveries.

Make collections and deliveries a five-day routine. Start collections on Sunday to Thursday evenings and deliver Monday to Friday. It would mean a five-day week for postmen, weekends off and a huge reduction in overtime.

Issue delivery men with electrically driven box bikes so that they can carry larger loads, including large parcels. This would also allow them to carry a Thermos flask and wet weather clothing.

Isolated or difficult addresses should be offered alternate day deliveries and/or a fixed point location to pick up any mail, etc.

I could list a number of other realistic measures to improve the costings and make the business competitive but do the authorities

really want to know? The new company certainly will.

From: Terry Morrell, Willerby, East Yorkshire.

Pope wrong to criticise our country

From: Peter Broadley, Stainland Road, Greetland, Halifax.

THE Pope's visit is over, and as a Catholic, I say: "Thank God".

"Thank God" that the Pontiff returned safely to Rome, and also "Thank God" that the PR exercise by the Vatican has ended.

I understood that this was a state visit by one "head of state" to another, rather than a pastoral visit by the Holy Father to see the flock in the UK, hence why the taxpayer picked up a significant part of the cost of the trip.

As a guest, you don't normally slag off the country you are visiting on your arrival, yet that is what the Pope did, criticising the "secular" state of social life.

I would have thought there would have been an uproar if a foreign head of state visiting the Vatican had voiced disapproval over the Vatican's application of Christian teaching.

The way that the Church's hierarchy has dealt with this scandal puts it in no place to criticise anyone, nor to take a moral stand on anything.

I haven't lost my faith, though it would have been easy to do so, and the evidence of less full churches, is hard to ignore.

I happen to believe in the "song" not the "singer".

From: Sandra Beach, Kingston Road, Willerby, East Yorkshire.

THE Pope's visit was a state one, he was invited by Gordon Brown when he was Prime Minister. As to using taxpayers' money, this is what happens when other heads of state visit – regardless of the size of the country.

The Catholic community has raised millions of pounds towards his visit for those venues outside of the state visit.

From: Keith Senior, Marlo Road, Dewsbury, West Yorkshire.

REFLECTING on the recent visit of Pope Benedict, I cannot help but consider that any intelligent visitor to these islands must experience a twinge of pity for the divided, confused, demoralised and purposeless face of society now presented by the public face of Britain.

All to the fore over these last few years has sounded more and more the strident voice of those crystalline forces, who representing much of the rot within, are chipping away at the civilisation, and particularly the Christian civilisation, upon which the standards and ethics of this country are built.

Confusion, controversy and public unrest are fuelled and fanned into heated disagreement by those who speak where many listen; muddled areas of "faith" are tossed around by leaders who, at best faithless themselves, at worst intent on destroying all religious influence and thinking from public life, are historically ignorant of the

consequences to society of throwing God out with the bath water. It is to be hoped that the clear message of Pope Benedict found its lasting mark in the understandings of those in authority in this country and does not evaporate.

A sad tale of isolation

From: Mel Warren, Wellhead Close, Bramhope, Leeds.

WHILE not a regular viewer of reality television, but being of a

similar age of some of the contestants on the recent BBC TV programme The Young Ones, I was induced to watch the alleged transformation of a group of "oldies" in a 1975 setting.

Dickie Bird was one of the contestants and I was astonished to observe the sad- looking initial appearance of this normally jovial fellow Yorkshireman.

He had apparently been isolated in his home for three months while

recovering from a stroke and other surgery, and allegedly not seen a visitor over this lengthy period. I wonder why this should be so. Yorkshire folk, and especially those from south of the county, enjoy a reputation for parochial friendliness.

I am of the same vintage as Dickie Bird, and was also raised within the same coal mining fraternity as he, in the decades during, and after the war.

In those austere days, coal mining communities cared for each other,

with the sick and elderly closely observed and quickly dealt with in times of need. A person living alone and thus in such need, would not be isolated for more than a day, let alone for several months.

We now live in a "consumer society" and with it appears to be a general national attitude towards self-survival. The public spirit of yesteryear having been forsaken, and replaced with a "me first" attitude to life in general.

The change in the appearance of Dickie Bird after three days of

companionship in the programme leads me to believe that without

thoughtful and kindly human interaction, we are all the worse off in this era of accepted progress.

Hubris that turned Blair into a vainglorious crusader

From: Gordon Lawrence, Stumperlowe View, Sheffield.

I would like to take issue with William Snowden as he attempted, in his well-written and thought-provoking letter (Yorkshire Post, September 14) to defend and even applaud the various incursions into foreign lands instigated by Tony Blair.

I will agree with him that the anti-war lobby, like many special interest groups, tend to go over the top in resorting to ruthless, bullying and intimidatory tactics to serve their ends; I'll also go along with his belief that Blair's intervention in Sierra Leone and Bosnia was largely motivated by altruism and a desire to prevent the escalating bloodbath enveloping those hapless countries. All of which made him into a shining star in the global political firmament.

Such success, however, together with his domination in the domestic field, created the pernicious hubris that led him to engage in the more expensive arenas of Iraq and Afghanistan. He almost admits in his

recent book that the end justified the means. Unfortunately, he lacked the knowledge and the imagination to see the end. He now sheds crocodile tears after he tossed away, and I concede unintentionally, the lives of soldiers and civilians almost like quantities of cheap confetti.

Tony Blair was a man of immense charm who seduced himself into a belief

of his own indestructible destiny. He was a man who tended to ignore history and tradition; he aspired to be "cool". And it was in

Afghanistan, in particular, where history was ignored.

I think you can substitute Mr Snowden's attribute of boldness in his appraisal of Blair as foolhardiness; Blair was not even bold enough to sack his wayward Chancellor when the man went on his ruinous spending spree and a vast US military umbrella also conveniently insured his exploits in Asia against initial failure. And, although I agree with William Snowden on the fickleness of public opinion, politicians are and should be judged on the outcome of their policies and Blair's adventures in the Middle East certainly reveal his weakness as a

statesman and leader.

Far from the principled statesman that Mr Snowden sees, Tony Blair epitomises to me, a shallow, impetuous, vainglorious crusader prince of the 12th century who finds only failure and misery as the crusade unravels.

Saving up for a moment of joy

From: Stephen Watson, Whitkirk, Leeds.

AUDREY Edwards (Yorkshire Post, September 18) must indeed have been fortunate to have come from a fairly affluent family if she was able to save three shillings and sixpence each week into the Yorkshire Penny Bank, since the average weekly wage of adult manual workers in the pre-war years was about 3 per week.

Having been born in 1953 and brought up in a mining village, I consider myself typical of all the other children who attended the same school and can recollect, along with most other pupils, saving one shilling per week.

This amount was recorded in the blue bank book each week by our teacher Mr Barton, until eventually we had saved up 1, at which time it was then transferred into the "big bank book".

The real moment of joy, though, was the Friday evening before the first week in August each year when you were able to go to the bank that was held each week in the school room to be able to withdraw your savings.

The reason being then you knew the next day you would be boarding the train for a whole week of a family holiday (aunts, uncles and cousins, too) in Scarborough.

Teed up to view White Horse

From: John Hodgson, Oakwood, Leeds.

I AM not bitter about the letter from Eric Vevers (Yorkshire Post, September 21) regarding the White Horse "monstrosity", even though I share the name with the person who laid out the design originally.

However, he is quite wrong that the horse cannot be seen "from any vantage point round north Leeds".

As an ex-member at Sand Moor Golf Cub (not a million miles from Mr Vevers's home) I remember standing on – I think – the fourth tee and

clearly seeing said nag quite clearly. This even before I visited the 19th.

Low-flying objection

From: Alexander Ogilvy, East Parade, Heworth, York, North Yorkshire.

THE residents of east York might appreciate it if the RAF, Belgian air force, USAF, Italian or French air forces did not practise their thunderous jet low-flying, sonic booms, dive-bombing, helicopter

circling or night-flying manoeuvres over their peaceful suburbs a

number of times a month.

This is not only unnecessarily noisy, tedious and distracting but also dangerous.