Tuesday's Letters: Revealed: the hidden meaning of life and modern language

n The claim that huge (obscene) pay rewards are essential to attract people with real ability and talent – what is "unreal" ability and were England's footballers an exception to the rule?

n It's the rate for the job – decided by us, and represents an inflated sum which we've managed to dupe the public into accepting.

n Bonus – a method of dramatically increasing previously agreed and acceptable levels of pay to unjustifiable amounts.

n Peanuts – any public sector salary in the 100,000 to 150,000 range.

n Elsewhere – a place no-one has ever visited; an unknown location; a destination so terrifying that mind-boggling salaries are required to prevent its habitation.

n Common sense – an unknown quality; unfashionable; not very common any more and in danger of extinction.

n Democracy – an infrequent occurrence; often restricted to one day

every four to five years and called Election Day.

n Council Tax – a relatively new way of imposing a large tax which doesn't appear as a pay slip deduction and thus has a lesser impact.

n Political correctness – common sense upside down.

n Pavement – a place reserved for cyclists and parked motor cars.

n A life prison sentence – so utterly meaningless; an appalling corruption of the English language; a period beginning at four years.

n Wind farms – horribly expensive and totally unproductive as they don't produce any wind at all and very little electricity.

n United Nations – a title beyond understanding, united in the ability of members to pick and choose whether to unite; an organisation where so-called senior members can abdicate their responsibilities, as many

do in Nato's Afghanistan war.

n Human rights – laws designed to protect the welfare of criminals.

n Expert – a person attempting to prove that theories are facts.

n Expert in criminal behaviour – a fantasist.

n Racial and religious abuse – inapplicable to white English or Church of England members.

n Energy saving light bulbs – do not recover the extra energies required in their manufacture when we are compelled to replace rarely used incandescent bulbs with them. How hazardous will the mercury content of these bulbs be when we have to dispose of billions of them

each year?

n Benefits of membership of the EU – cannot think of any. The claim we need Europe for trade is not being very honest as we import far more from Europe than we export to them.

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

Apply logic to the problem of parking

From: Terry Morrell, Willerby, Hull.

HAVING read several recent letters on the subject, may I suggest that most parking problems are caused by motorists themselves not taking sufficient care. Read adjacent notices thoroughly and park within the marked lines.

Where longitudinal parking', as along many streets, try to park as close as possible to the next car so that unusable spaces are not left. Often there are large gaps left and the accumulated space is wasted. Councils could assist in this matter by adding short "car length" marks into these parking zone because most motorists will conform if prompted.

Often, there is sufficient room in many streets for echelon parking on one side of the street only, but councils are concerned that drivers backing out from these spaces may cause accidents.

However, this arrangement could increase parking spaces by up to 50 per cent as three or four cars parked side by side only takes up the same

amount of space as two parked end to end even if they are parked correctly. Echelon parking in car parks should provide more spaces and generally make access and exit from "slots" easier. Vehicles that take up two parking places should be charged a double fee and here I am

thinking of motorhomes and the like.

With the continuing increase in the number of cars on the road, some simple logic needs to be applied if we are to make the most of space available to park.

From: Margaret Cliff, Mead Road, Colton, Leeds.

I WOULD like to thank the parking attendant at the A&E unit at Leeds General Infirmary who helped me when my grandson badly cut his head in the garden.

My grandson was still bleeding from a head wound and when we asked if he could help with parking, he went all around the immediate area next to the A&E, but could find no spaces.

He went one step further, seeing our distress, and ran up to the high rise parking saying: "Come with me I will find somewhere for you."

He did just that and guided us to a space just inside and helped us into the tiny space.

I worked for 20 years in the NHS, my daughter works there too, we are at times their worst critics but when we need the NHS all the staff pull together. Thank you all.

Ousting the leaders

From: Paul Buckley, Haigh, Barnsley.

RICHARD Billups (Yorkshire Post, August 17) suggests that a Prime Minister can be judged by whether they were "thrown out by their own supporters".

What does Mr Billups mean by supporters; party members, the electorate, or members of the parliamentary party?

It would be fair measure if both Labour and Conservative parties had

the same method of removing the leader of the party. Diane Abbott, Labour MP and current leader contender, often remarks that the parliamentary Labour Party has no way of removing a leader.

This, we are told, is due to a constitution which includes not only Labour MPs and party members, but also the trade unions.

If Labour MPs had the ability to remove their leader, it would be very easy to imagine that both Tony Blair and Gordon Brown would have been removed by their parliamentary colleagues.

It is also worth noting that David Cameron tried to limit the powers of the Conservative 1922 backbench committee.

Failures in education

From: ME Wright, Grove Road, Harrogate.

JENNIFER Hunter (Yorkshire Post, August 7) and Allan Davies (Yorkshire Post, August 12) both express well-founded concerns about aspects of our education system.

A relative of mine used to teach in adult literacy classes. Having always been assured that in the "good old days" everyone left school, both literate and numerate, she was astonished to find that many of her students had run successful businesses, relying on others to hide their lack of these basic skills. We have had 30 years of Thatcher/Major, Blair/Brown governments, all of whom claimed to have education at the top of their agendas.

The latest lot are still trumpeting and tinkering; but what is the extent of their personal investment in State education?

Some years ago, I read that 80 per cent of members of the Bundestag were from state schools and, I would hope, sent their children there. Why am I finding it so difficult to obtain comparable information on

our MPs?

Countryside beauty is blighted by dregs of society

From: Karl Sheridan, Selby Road, Holme on Spalding Moor.

ALTHOUGH we have beautiful countryside in Yorkshire, we decided to take a holiday in Scotland, taking in the spectacular Edinburgh Tattoo with its unique blend of music, ceremony and colour; Stirling with its wonderful buildings and centuries of history and many more places of absorbing interest.

Our hotel was situated on the shores of Loch Lomond, and what a delight it was to take an early morning walk with the sun breaking through the mist, hearing nothing but the muted sounds of birdsong and the

occasional glimpse of a deer.

However, what a disappointment to find that even in Scotland such a picturesque and peaceful place also falls foul of those disgusting and dirty tourists who leave their rubbish behind.

Just what is it with people who travel miles to see a beautiful area, almost akin to the Garden of Eden, and then having enjoyed it walk away leaving beer cans, sandwich wrappers and even dirty nappies? What sort of people are these?

Walking along the edge of the loch, we frequently came across the evidence of camp fires, sadly accompanied by disposable barbecues left scattered around to lie there until "someone else" might pick them up and dispose of them properly – and that's the problem, isn't it? These dregs of society, no matter how well dressed or educated, fail to take on responsibility for their mess, their lifestyle, their attitude.

Here in Yorkshire we endure those with a similar mentality. I was taught to take my rubbish home or at least hold on to it until I found a bin – unlike these days where the vast majority seem to think that once they have consumed something they have purchased to eat on the hoof – its wrappings or container suddenly appear to be no longer their responsibility but someone else's – the council, the cinemas, the parks authority, in fact anyone except them. I feel sad that our beautiful countryside is being defiled by people like this, and to be frank I think the only mistake God made while creating our world was in creating man – but then, even He is allowed the odd mistake!

Tidal barriers are the answer

From: CA Scott, West Wells Lane, Gringley-on-the-Hill, Near Doncaster.

I NOTE recent reports on wind power and must register my doubt as to the effectiveness of wind power as a means of generating electricity for direct use.

There would need to be a store of the energy produced, for when the wind was at reduced strength. As a means of generating electricity from renewables on a large scale, then I would have to go for tidal barriers on estuaries. It would create a lot of jobs if British companies were contracted to build it.

Slow going

From: Carole Young, Strensall, York.

I'D take those politicians committed to supporting Yorkshire tourism more seriously if they could tell me when they intend to upgrade the A64 between York and Scarborough.The ongoing delays are holding back

tourism in this part of the county. Come on, get a move on.

Close study

From: Hilary Andrews, Nursery Lane, Leeds.

THE media is always analysing the performance of the coalition

government. First 30 days and now 100 days. If the performance of the Labour Government had been scrutinised so thoroughly, perhaps we would not be in the economic mess we are today.

Colour blind

From: Vivienne Dunn, Beckside, Hornsea.

WHAT a shame that West Midlands Police has nothing better to do than worry about the colour of their officers' underwear (Yorkshire Post, August 20). Does it matter whether it is sky blue, pink with yellow dots on or non-existent so long as they do their job?