God’s own county does itself proud

yorkshire should be a very proud county following the successful launch of this year’s Tour de France and the community of Arthington village should be especially proud.

Having secured ourselves a position for the day, we arrived at Arthington to find the village suitably bedecked in its finery. The village hall provided meals from 6am with an additional barbecue from 7am.

The food and prices were beyond belief and the efforts made by all the villagers added to the thrill of the day. A big thank you to this wonderful community who had clearly worked so hard, not only on the day but in the run up to the event demonstrated by the fantastic floral arrangements to be seen in abundance and the wonderful cakes and bakes.

Arthington village, you should be proud of yourselves and you really made our day. Well done.

From: Anita Wyatt, Pocklington.

ON Sunday morning, my husband and I sat down to watch the Tour de France leave York, six hours later we were still sat watching the end in Sheffield. It was amazing, the cyclists were so enthusiastic and the crowds all along the route were just fantastic. If this has not put Yorkshire on the map, then I do not know what will. Gary Verity and his team should feel very proud, well done!

From: Sue Teasdale, Otley.

“SIR” Gary wouldn’t go amiss! Congratulations to him for all his efforts in showcasing our Yorkshire. Our secret’s out now!

From: Professor JA Double, Carlinghow Hill, Upper Batley.

I WOULD like to congratulate Gary Verity and all those responsible for organising such a spectacular and successful two days in Yorkshire.

However my enjoyment and I am sure of many others was spoilt by the total incompetence of the ITV4 commentators.

Perhaps they are experts on cycling but when it come to geography they were totally ignorant, they clearly cannot follow a map, there were many instances where they did not know where the cyclists were and to confuse Woodhead Reservoir with Ladybower was crass in the extreme and would certainly have confused foreign viewers, many of whom may be potential visitors in the future.

Hopefully, when the Tour of Yorkshire is staged in the future, there will be commentators who know where they are to ensure that potential visitors are not subject to the same confusion.

From: Jack Banner, Meanwood, Leeds.

MY wife Sue and I watched Le Grand Départ with great interest on TV. What a coup for Yorkshire!

The aerial views of our wonderful county cannot have failed to impress the entire globe.

There are two negatives to be noted on this otherwise wonderful first stage.

The ITV coverage was, at times, lamentable with breaks in sound and vision during the broadcast which detracted greatly from our overall experience. Also, the marshalling (or lack of) at some locations was a cause for great concern. As a result, riders and spectators had their safety compromised.

All in all though, a spectacular advert for Yorkshire and England. Given our enthusiasm, and the reaction to it, they will be back very soon. No other single day has made me as proud to be from Leeds and Yorkshire!

From: G Varley, Belbrooke Towers. Leeds.

we keep hearing what a success the Grand Départ has been 
and how good it is for the economy.

Well, we will reserve judgement until next year when we get our council tax letters.

Somebody has to pay for it and it won’t be all those visitors it was supposed to bring.

From: Peter Hyde, Driffield.

THANK you to The Yorkshire Post for printing a supplement in your paper for the Grand Départ. Because of this I was able to follow the route on my map 
and I have little doubt that through that and the coverage 
on TV people will be encouraged to visit our wonderful Dales.

It is many years since we travelled through that area but we are already planning another visit in the near future. What a wonderful county and wonderful sights we have to view.

Keep blowing the trumpet for Yorkshire.

From: Andrew Mercer, Guiseley.

GOD’S own country or God’s own county? After this weekend, it must surely be the former.

From: Brian Sheridan, Redmires Road, Sheffield.

HOW I agree with Godfrey Lomas (The Yorkshire Post, July 7). The amateurish and ill-researched TV commentary on Yorkshire’ s Tour de France was unforgivable. After the mispronunciations and factual inaccuracies cited by your correspondent on day one it got even worse as the peloton descended into West and South Yorkshire. One commentator confused Haworth with Harworth where the late Tom Simpson grew up, later making a garbled reference to the Brontës on arriving at the famous village.

He couldn’t get Oughtibridge right even after a colleague’s diffident attempt to correct him.

As if to add insult to injury there were the “ee bah gums” and stereotyping. At one stage I swear I heard that “even the Yorkshire folk are learning French”. Thank goodness for the photography of the brilliant French production team which showed God’s own county in all its glory.