YP Letters: Disgraceful actions by sports car drivers during Armistice silence

I ATTENDED the act of remembrance at the war memorial in the village of Brandesburton on November 11, with many others, to pay our respects to the fallen.

Just as the Last Post was being played, to be followed by the two minutes silence, a rally of about 20 vintage Triumph sports cars came past making an awful noise and leaving a strong smell of petrol fumes.

The drivers should be ashamed of themselves, they marred what was a very well attended and emotional event. When we have seen such sacrifice of life for our freedom, the least we should expect is for people to remember the date and time of the Armistice and consider those who wish to mark the occasion.

From: Edward Grainger, Nunthorpe, Middlesbrough.

As A regular reader of The Yorkshire Post and not infrequent contributor to the pages of Letters to the Editor, it is with grateful thanks that I congratulate all those on the editorial team of the newspaper for a fitting tribute in words and pictures, most notably, November 10, Armistice 100 and Fallen, not Forgotten.

Much of the fitting tributes to those who made the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country could have been attributed to those members of the Cyclists Touring Club who are each year remembered at the Cyclists’ Service at St Michael’s Church, Coxwold, At the service in May this year, I was pleased to welcome on behalf of the club that was founded in August 1878 in Harrogate, relatives of those cyclists who gave their lives. At the same time several relatives were present whose loved ones returned home and attended the very first service in the village in 1927.

Villages throughout Yorkshire have provided cyclists for the make up of the Congregation of Cyclists and friends and relatives of cyclists. It is most fitting that five Yorkshire villages – Helperthorpe, Cundall, Norton-le-Clay, Scruton and Catwick - did not lose a single soul fighting in the First World War. Those were five of the 52 thankful villages in England and Wales and Catwick is one of those villages that lost nobody in either of the two world wars.

It remains a fitting tribute to Yorkshire villages that the Cyclists’ Service continues to this day.

Too many privileges

From: Bob Watson, Baildon.

The Yorkshire Post has recently reported on the latest court case involving long-term prisoner Charles Bronson, once regarded as the most violent inmate in Britain, and serving a life sentence for various offences.

This time he has been prosecuted for and then found not guilty of trying to seriously harm a prison governor.

But the case centred on his supposed grievance related to his prison wedding photos in November 2017. Surely this begs a serious question – why on earth do we allow prisoners to marry at all whilst incarcerated?

There appears to be far too many privileges considered acceptable these days, and it is time that imprisonment was made much harder, and certainly without this sort of thing being allowed. It is sheer madness.

The age of 
self-obsession

From: James Robson, Kirbymoorside.

After almost a lifetime studying our species I have come to the conclusion that it has been a failed experiment: nice try, God but no cigar this time.

I reached this conclusion the other day when a Dutch individual appeared amid the dreary wastes of daytime television and announced that instead of persevering with his natural age of 69 – he had decided his real age to be 49.

Leaving aside that his prime motive might have been to maximise his chances in his online dating quest, one can only say ‘Good luck with that one, mate’ and hope he is offered counselling fairly soon.

Seriously though, isn’t this just another symptom of our self-obsessed age? To consider that one can, by an effort of will, change one’s age, or gender, or anything apart from one’s mind or tie is becoming a common delusion.

I look forward to meeting the man who decided to be a dog/bird/hedgehog or whatever. A brave new world awaits us!

Control issue

From: Iain Morris, Caroline Street, Saltaire, Bradford.

Parents and teachers should be put back in control as children do not have the life skills to be running the show.

The teachings in Proverbs were still in place when I was a postgraduate student at Manchester Polytechnic. Now we have a columnist writing in The Yorkshire Post “I’m terrified my son will be caught up in knife crime”. Well, we have brought it all on ourselves; what we need now is a radical rethink.

Plastic woes

From: ME Wright, Harrogate.

Nigel Coates seeks a plan for the future of recyclable plastic packaging (The Yorkshire Post,November 14). Whatever the answer may be, could I plead also for the inclusion of clear and effective instructions for getting into it? I ask this, following yet another episode of blood and sticking plaster as, thwarted once again, I unwisely resorted to the use of a sharp knife!

Crying foul

From: Terence Hammond, Sandal, Wakefield.

Having walked the paths round Newmillerdam for the last 10 years the amount of abuse I receive from cyclists has increased tenfold. One today used a vile swear word towards me because he had to slow down to pass me. This happens on many occasions to fellow walkers around this area.

What is wrong with these people and, more to the point, what is the rush? I thought they did it for pleasure.