Friday's Letters: God bless you, Sir Norman, a man of boundless laughter

The late Princess Diana used to read to her then young children from my stories of Douglas the Dragon, Princess Anne agreed to open a disabled centre in Dewsbury when I asked her, and even the late Princess Margaret once phoned me.

In addition, I received phone calls from two Presidents and two Prime Ministers along with a congratulatory phone call from Nelson Mandela, tea in the private apartments of Number 10, Downing Street and a medal from Queen Elizabeth.

From all the people I have been lucky to meet and have contact with, one of my most treasured memories was the time I persuaded Norman Wisdom to visit Mirfield Library and to read from one of my books, called Action Annie.

The publishing of the book had been kindly funded by the late Dame Catherine Cookson, a good friend of mine, and the proceeds of its sale went to Mencap.

Norman arrived in his green Rolls Royce early morning and we shared elevenses and lunch at the Corn Mill.

I was in his company until 6pm and he kept me laughing throughout. I had never witnessed such agility and life from a man then in his 80s.

Hundreds of people, along with the obligatory TV cameras, turned out to welcome him and he gave many in-depth newspaper interviews to reporters

and signed hundreds of autographs.

Even after his visit to Mirfield, we remained in regular contact until recently when he entered a nursing home during his final days.

He always started off his telephone call to me with the words: "Hi, Bill, Wizzy here." He continued to do so after he'd been knighted. He was generous to a 'T' and he would often send me a signed copy of one of his books for charity.

Norman never forgot his day visit to Mirfield all those years ago. God bless you, Sir Norman, and rest assured that Mirfield folk will never forget you. Keep laughing.

From: Bill Forde, Dunbottle Lane, Mirfield.

Miliband and the way ahead for Labour

From: T Scaife, Manor Drive, York.

THE Labour Party conference proved two things. New Labour is oh so yesterday, and sanity was achieved by electing Ed Miliband as leader over yet another egomaniac in brother David.

The Right wing-dominated media were quick to paint Labour's latest messiah as Red Ed. Anyone would have a red hue compared with the ultra-blue of the ConDems.

Unimpressed by some of Ed's speech, I later realised he would have to wait to add flesh to the bones of policy until after the ConDems slash-and-burn review.

Team Clegg/Cameron are to rely on an improving economy to offset any public sector decimation. A public sector job gone here, a private

sector job added there. Wishful thinking in a scenario of already huge unemployment.

Unless some emollient is added to savage cuts, many Lib Dems could support a revitalised Labour in parliament and vote some

cuts down.

Whatever cuts occur, Ed must ensure Labour policy safeguards civil liberty to undo the damage of authoritarians Blair and Brown.

He has to demand equality, improved pensions, plentiful housing and work/life balance.

It's all to play for Ed, but only if you reconnect with the soul of this nation. Austerity – no thanks.

Sporting memories

From: John Bolton, Gregory Springs Mount, Mirfield.

THANK you for taking me back to a lovely period of my life with your 1939 picture taken at Headingley and featuring Vic Hey alongside other well known rugby league players (Yorkshire Post, September 29).

I was born in 1935 and around 1939, my father began taking me to either Dewsbury's old ground, Crown Flatt, or Barley Mow, where Bramley had their home ground.

He came from the Bramley/Horsforth area so going there was a "day out".

I loved the mix of bus and trams and we would leave the bus from Dewsbury at Tommy Wass's so I could ride the tram into Leeds and out

to Bramley.

Visiting his family, meeting his friends and then the match itself were always things to look forward to.

Perhaps, moving into the 1940s, I seem to remember Vic Hey playing at Dewsbury along with Charlie Seeling who was in the fire service. Maybe Harry Hammond and Geoff Clarke were around at the same time?

I'm sure someone will be able to correct me if I'm wrong.

Waiting for an answer

From: Tom Whitley, Nicholson Road, Healing, Grimsby.

LAST week, I received a letter from my local hospital (head and neck

administration team) that an appointment I had to see the eye consultant tomorrow, had been put back until February 2011 – a deferment of more than four months.

No explanation was given other than the department saying that it

had been instructed to change the appointment.

When I telephoned the hospital, I was told that the change was due to the consultant being on his long annual leave

This begs the question as to why the hospital made the appointment for this date in the first place and, also, why a delay of four months?

My cynical mind suggest that age may have something to do with it – I am well into my 84th year – and also the state of the country at the moment with cuts being hinted at in all areas.

Time for a change

From: Richard Appleyard, Saxilby, near Lincoln.

YES, it is time to scrap Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) in England and Wales and put the clocks on another hour in the spring to Double Summer Time (DST) in England and Wales.

Canada and the US have a few time zones and they can manage it very well. There is no reason the UK shouldn't have two time zones that give Scotland GMT in the winter and one hour ahead in the summer and England and Wales one hour ahead of Scotland all year round.

People in Scotland very strongly oppose having the clocks one hour ahead of GMT in the winter and also oppose the UK being put on to two time zones. It is high time that we stopped the people in Scotland dictating what England and Wales do to the clocks.

If the people in Scotland want GMT in the winter and one hour ahead in the summer, then it is high time they had their own time zone. Most people in England and Wales would like lighter evenings and I share

their opinion.

Brass band still hits high note

From: Mike Hanson, Astral Close, Halifax.

May I congratulate you on the apt timing of the archive photograph (Yorkshire Post, October 6). This coming weekend will see Brighouse and Rastrick Band competing once again in the Royal Albert Hall for the mighty trophy displayed in the picture. These days it is simply called the National Championships of Great Britain.

We shall be competing against the best of British brass bands including Black Dyke and Rothwell Temperance for Yorkshire and The Cory Band from Wales plus Fairey's from Lancashire, a total of about 20 bands. Brighouse and Rastrick, with their professional conductor, Prof David King from Australia, have been completing their rehearsals this week at their headquarters, "West Ridings" in Brighouse.

Bottle battle

From: S Piper, Hayton Wood View, Aberford, Leeds.

IT is hard to think of a more spectacular PR "own goal" than Sam Smith's decision to issue a writ against Cropton Brewery for the latter's use of the Yorkshire White Rose on a beer bottle (Yorkshire Post, October 6).

If they're so concerned about "confusingly similar" symbols, one wonders why their Tadcaster rivals, John Smiths, haven't also heard from their lawyers?

From: Geoff Bayley, chairman of Saddleworth White Rose Society, Stoneswood Road, Delph, Saddleworth.

WHEN available, I thoroughly enjoy a glass of Samuel Smith's lager. Unfortunately, it is not easy to obtain here in Saddleworth.

However, I was shocked to read (Yorkshire Post, October 6) that Samuel Smith's have mounted a legal challenge to the use of the "Yorkshire rose" on the labels of a small rival brewery. I find this most surprising. By studying the photos in your newspaper, the roses are quite different.

May I suggest that the rose used by Samuel Smiths is not a true Yorkshire rose, as the five "barbs" appear to be through the centre of each petal instead of between the petals. The rose used on Warrior beer is similar to the rose used on the Yorkshire flag, while that used by Smiths is not.

Punishment, not pampering, for prison inmates

From: Barrie Frost, Watson's Lane, Reighton, Filey.

MOST people are already aware of the ludicrously sloppy and ill-disciplined rgimes in our so-called prisons but the revelations made by the Justice Minister, Kenneth Clarke, in his recent speech, may surprise us even more and highlight how the people of Britain and her taxpayers are being atrociously abused in having to fund this shambles (Yorkshire Post, October 6).

Ken Clarke, commenting on the lack of work in prison (whose fault is this?), says this was simply fuelling a culture of re-offending with some inmates not being even bothered to get out of bed to undergo training, rehabilitation or help maintain the jail's upkeep. He

is proposing paid employment for inmates.

So, there we have it, now we all know how utterly pathetic successive governments have allowed prisons to become – prisoners cannot be bothered to get out of bed.

I didn't realise this option was the privilege of prisoners; I didn't realise prisoners could decide what time they decided to get up; I didn't realise that prisoners were running the prisons.

I, mistakenly it seems, thought prisons were to punish; to correct bad behaviour; to deter criminals from re-offending; to teach prisoners the error of their behaviour.

Mr Clarke further commented that if prisoners became accustomed to working a 9am-5pm shift, they might not find employment in the real world so challenging. Just why are they not already working

all day?

Oh, for a return to just plain and simple common sense and fair but firm discipline, all of which would not incur any additional expenditure.

The Army training instructors involved in my National Service must find this situation beyond belief and be astounded that governments have allowed these conditions to grow and to fester. They must be champing at the bit to be invited to sort out this appalling mess.