‘Where do we get the Tube to Scarborough?’: A London civil servant’s view of the North as they arrive in Leeds – Yorkshire Post Letters

From: S M Hardy, North Close, Leeds.
Are rail services in cities like Leeds acceptable or not?Are rail services in cities like Leeds acceptable or not?
Are rail services in cities like Leeds acceptable or not?

THE recent utterances of a certain peer, coupled with the attitudes shown by the metropolitan “elite” generally to the North and we who work and live here, remind me of an experience my son had which seems to prove that, to some, the M25 is regarded as a “Hadrian’s Wall” to defend the civilised Londoners from the barbaric Northerners.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

My son’s job covered the whole of Yorkshire and part of the North East and required personal inspection and validation of the inventories held by certain government establishments.

Rail services in the North remain the poor relation when compared to London, it is claimed.Rail services in the North remain the poor relation when compared to London, it is claimed.
Rail services in the North remain the poor relation when compared to London, it is claimed.

He was informed that a civil servant was coming from London to accompany him on one such inspection to get first-hand knowledge of how the system worked. My son was delighted that a real interest appeared to be being taken.

He was advised of the name of the individual and his arrival time by rail at Leeds City 
Station.

He queried this since as the inspection was in Scarborough – York would have been a better point of arrival. No, it would be Leeds.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

On the day he stood as arranged at the station meeting point and eventually met up with a rather confused and concerned looking young man.

After introductions my son asked if his visitor had a problem as he clearly looked discomfited.

“I’m looking for the sign,” said the civil servant.

“What sign?”

“The Underground sign.”

“What?”

“Yes. Where do we get the Tube to Scarborough? I’ve got my Oystercard.”

From: Liz Jesson, Sherburn in Elmet.

CAN pragmatism be taught? If so, can I enrol for a course?

I ask because as a heterosexual, white, working-class, Yorkshire soon-to-be-80-year-old woman, it would enable me to read the letters and articles in The Yorkshire Post without rushing to my laptop with steam coming out of my ears to express my opinion about the ridiculous and misguided ideas that all aspects of the media promote as the way forward in society.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

I know that the younger generation blame my generation for most of the ills of the world – and we certainly made mistakes – but, my goodness, I’m glad that I’m on my way out of it rather than on my way in.

I worry for the joyless society that awaits these young people in a world that gets weirder by the day and is spiralling into madness.

I should be able to shrug off all the wokeism etc and accept that this is the way things are, but I can’t stop worrying about my grandson’s generation, so I ask again – can pragmatism be taught so that I can learn not to worry to what happens to society after I’ve gone and so that I can reduce my stress levels?

From: Clark Cross, Springfield Road, Linlithgow.

THE Right Reverend Dr John Thomson and the Reverend Jan Nobel want the green levies to remain on our energy bills so that the money is available to “save the planet” (The Yorkshire Post, February 22).

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Green levies are added to UK energy bills. Whilst the turbine owners get richer, energy users have to choose between eating and heating.

It shows how out of touch the clergy are when they say “the sooner we switch to green and sustainable energy the sooner energy prices will start to fall”.

Turbines are not so green since their manufacture and installation creates thousands of tonnes of greenhouse gases which takes at least seven years to recover. Sustainable? If the wind does not blow, there is no electricity so what do they suggest?

In the last 12 months wind could only produce 18.9 per cent of our electricity whereas reliable gas provided 41.7 per cent.

Prices fall? I suggest that divine intervention is needed.

From: Paul Morley, Long Preston, Skipton.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

I FEAR that the Right Reverend Thomson has far more faith than the rest of us.

He wants to keep the green levies that we are forced to pay and believes that the sooner we switch to green, sustainable energy, the quicker energy prices will fall. We all want energy prices to fall, but who wants to go from a system that constantly provides power to one that is unreliable to say the least?

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today. Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app, receive exclusive members-only offers and access to all premium content and columns. Click here to subscribe.

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.