YP Letters: Nation's duty to maintain Buckingham Palace

WHAT a mealy-mouthed first paragraph from GP Taylor (The Yorkshire Post, November 23). The old lady he obliquely refers to is of course Her Majesty the Queen.

This lady at 90 is still accepting a punishing workload when most of her contemporaries will have retired some 30 years ago.

For over 60 years she has devoted herself to our country, never being able to close her front door in real privacy.

The house GP Taylor refers to is not her own, she stewards it for the nation; in this sense as ‘landlord’ the nation should have maintained its upkeep.

Owing to its failure to do so we, the nation, must now meet the cost of the restoration. Buckingham Palace is a major tourist attraction and it should also be a suitable residence (hardly a home) for our much loved and admired monarch.

From: Don Burslam, Elm Road, Dewsbury Moor, Dewsbury.

I AM a firm supporter of the monarchy, but in view of the announcement of a refurbishment of Buckingham Palace costing over £300m, we are entitled to ask some questions.

The taxpayer will be footing the bill, but why, in a time of cuts and austerity, cannot the monarchy make a contribution?

For instance, the Palace contains a priceless collection of art which the public never sees so why not sell a few pictures to raise some funds? It would make a small dent in the bill but it would be a gesture that the monarchy is willing to play a part in grappling with the nation’s economic problems. Such a move could prove very popular with the public, many of whom are struggling to make ends meet.

From: John E Dodd, Belton, Doncaster.

REGARDING GP Taylor’s bitter diatribe of the Chancellor and his forthcoming Autumn Statement. It is my belief, correct me if I’m wrong, that Buckingham Palace belongs to the nation. If so, does he believe all tenants should be responsible for the upkeep of their residence?

Delight over flood funding

From: Greg Mulholland, Leeds North West MP.

I AM delighted at the announcement of £2m to better protect homes in Otley and downstream including in Pool-in-Wharfedale against flooding (The Yorkshire Post, November 24).

In April I secured a meeting with the Floods Minister and made the case for why this funding was needed, following the serious flooding on Boxing Day last year and I am pleased that the Government has listened. I will now be seeking a further meeting with the Minister to ask when and how this money will be spent and when flood protection and prevention measures will be put in place. After two serious floods on the River Wharfe last year, and already with flood warnings issued this winter for the valley, this investment needs to be made as soon as possible.

Village’s fears over fracking

From: Professor Kath Woodward, Church Lane, Letwell, Worksop.

I AM writing on behalf of concerned residents in our village in South Yorkshire to alert others to our experience of the threat posed to our area by seismic surveys and fracking.

The first we knew was through rumours of individual householders being approached, often in a manner described by one local person as ‘bullying’. The parish council was not informed, but subsequently international chemicals company INEOS and British oil and gas explorers IGAS came to present their plans to the community.

As one person commented at the end of the open meeting, INEOS, who ran it, could not have done more to alienate and distress the community if they had tried. We have been misinformed and treated with disdain. We have requested a map, which has repeatedly been refused.

This is just the start.

Time to come in from cold?

From: Barry Geldard, Glen View, Hebden Bridge.

THE subject of cryonics (The Yorkshire Post, November 22) is nothing new. Some 4,000 years ago, the Egyptians seem to have been experimenting with this.

Many of us have seen illustrations of, among others Horus, with his figure of a man, and the head of a falcon.

Perhaps somewhere in the Valley of the Kings, he, too, may be awaiting advances in science to return him to the land of the living. The idea of freezing only the head has some merit, provided one could be guaranteed the body of a young Sylvester Stallone or Marilyn Monroe.

Knock this on the Ed

From: Janet Berry, Barfield, Hambleton.

A JOKE’S a joke but will the miscreants who are still voting for Ed Balls on Strictly please stop? Personally I find him acutely embarrassing.

He is preventing much more able dancers going forward. Every week I hope it is his last but he just keeps hanging in there. Surely people will come to their senses? I hope so.