YP Letters: Profit and loss of public ethos on rails

From: ME Wright, Harrogate.
Leeds Station - do passengers get a fair deal from the railways?Leeds Station - do passengers get a fair deal from the railways?
Leeds Station - do passengers get a fair deal from the railways?

“MOST rail trips run by foreign firms” (The Yorkshire Post, December 30), specifically, French, German and Netherlands state railways.

They own and profit by them but, regrettably, don’t actually run them. That continues to be left to British, stereotypical suits, more attuned to bottom lines than railway lines; to profit rather than public service. The European ethos which once existed in the UK is long gone.

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Meanwhile, Jonathan Spruce and Ed Cox foretell a glowing 2018 future for the North’s railways – albeit with a 30-year time span! More than welcome, but why does ‘smart ticket technology’ come first in their list of priorities?

We fare-paying, tax-paying passengers are far more interested in that technology which actually gets us from here to there – that which involves trains, tracks and signals; that which, perhaps once again, might be counted as a ‘public service’, with the attendant bonus of easing road chaos.

Dare I suggest that if they, Chris Grayling and the rest seek a happy 2018, they’d better get themselves, and us, moving soon?

Deserving of a knighthood?

From: Paul Emsley, Hellifield.

SO, what did Nick Clegg get his knighthood for?

Services to the country?

Services to the Liberal Democrat Party?

Services to David Cameron?

Services to Nick Clegg?

I’ll leave you to make your own judgement. I, myself, could name at least 50 Yorkshire people who are more deserving of public recognition because of their selfless service – and a lot of them don’t get paid for doing it!

Yorkist game of thrones

From: Elisabeth Baker, Leeds.

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I WAS interested to read your item (The Yorkshire Post, January 1) about the Battle of Wakefield in 1460 and the deaths in it of Richard, Duke of York and his eldest son Edmund.

But the picture accompanying the item is not of this Richard, Duke of York but of another son, who became King Richard III. He took the throne after the death of his other brother, King Edward IV, and is said to have been responsible for the deaths of Edward’s two sons, known as The Princes in the Tower.

Richard III died in 1485 at the Battle of Bosworth, which resulted in the ascent of the Tudor monarchs, and his remains were found recently under a car park in Leicester.

Maybe history would have been different if Edmund had survived to promote the Yorkist cause...

From: Brian Waddington, Terry Avenue, York.

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THERE seems to have been some generational confusion in your New Year’s Day article regarding the commemoration of the Battle of Wakefield.

Richard, 3rd Duke of York, was never annointed king of England, although that was presumably his ambition when he opposed the forces of Henry VI.

The title of Richard III belonged to his son, and it is his portrait which accompanies your article. This latter gentleman was of course killed at the Battle of Bosworth Field some 25 years later and buried in Leicester. Perhaps the treatment meted out to his father was one of the reasons York was turned down as the resting place for his remains.

Good food goes to waste

From: Beryl Armistead, Scarborough.

IN response to Jayne Dowle (The Yorkshire Post, January 1), I read her column on food waste while enjoying a lactose-free real fruit yoghurt that was two days past its sell by date!

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Marks & Spencer give to our Salvation Army officers their perfectly good food that is one day past its date, and we not only put it to good use among the homeless but often share some with our church folk.

I recall one luncheon club being delighted to see, beside everyone’s plate, a bar of my favourite dairy-free mint chocolate!

I felt really sorry for the shop, there was a lot of it, only one day out of date.

Church in sad decline

From: Aled Jones, Southcliffe Road, Bridlington.

IN all my years as a devout believer in Christ, I have asked myself many times: will no one stop the awful decline of western Christendom?

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If falling church attendance isn’t bad enough, we now have an ancient church in the Diocese of Manchester, St Thomas Werneth, that has removed its pews in order to cater for local Muslims.

It is so outrageous. I really think the Queen, as head of the Church of England, should intervene.

Congestion at critical mass

From: Peter Hyde, Driffield.

THE traffic and parking situation in our small town is getting worse and worse. These days there are more car owners than ever and – of course – they naturally expect to be able to park near their homes.

However the streets were never designed for this and congestion is now almost intolerable, with regular hold-ups for the large lorries that bring goods for the shops.

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The fact that there is no
 longer a police presence 
does nothing to alleviate the situation.

From: David Treacher, Hull.

PATIENTS and visitors are being charged record amounts to park at hospital car parks.

Given the size of the NHS, hospitals should be able to provide staff to man a car park 
to help patients.