16 Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, Thursday, September 18th, 2008 What is happening I


to our town? A CLOSE relative, an ex-Clitheron- ian, now a citizen of New Zealand, joined us with her three-year-old son for a summer holiday in the “Auld Country”. •


' She read, tvith some bemusement,


the case reported in your newspaper of a motorist caught on a spy camera and having been fined for parking in an empty car park. “How can this be?” The best was yet to come. On Saturday, September 4th, she


borrowed my car to do some shop­ ping in Clitheroe with her little boy, and also to visit our excellent public library to research the relationship between Mr King (of King Street) and the voyages of Captain Cook. Your readers may recall it was a


day of quite substantial rain. Nonetheless, she was able to find a


parking space at the Pimlico end of Church Brow, while noting the park­ ing restrictions. When the time came to leave the library, in order to com­ ply with these restrictions, the rain had increased to a mercifully short, but torrential downpour, which no doubt swamped many an adult never mind a small toddler. She had no alternative, but to wait until the worst had passed. Consequently, she- was six minutes, yes, a whole six minutes overdue upon her return to my car. Too late! One of our traffic war­


dens, displaying great determination and disregard of the elements, had already pounced: “Twenty five pounds, pay up or else it’s £50.” This incidentally amounts to several days of my s ta te pension, which Her Majesty’s Government deems as suf­ ficient to support myself. All for six minutes! Upon return to our home, our rela­


tive’s reaction was one of anger and disbelief at such draconian inflexibil­ ity. Surely, he could see the child’s seat, surely he knew the appalling weather, when every rational human being took shelter. I could not answer her question as


to “who pays these people to do such a thing?” Neither could I answer her question “what on earth is happen­ ing to Clitheroe?” Perhaps, our head of civic office, the Mayor, can eluci­ date?


D. MARCH, Eaves Hall Lane, West Bradford


Remember those


warnings on TV? RE. the continuing high accident rate on A59. Readers of a certain age may remember a regular 30-minute US TV series of the 1950s, "Highway Patrol". Each episode regardless of the sto­


ryline, concluded with its star, Brod­ erick Crawford, giving a pertinent two-liner to the camera, e.g. "Remember, it's not the car that kills, it's the driver" and, " Leave your blood at the Red Cross and not on the Highway."


IAN R. WHITE, Rogersfield, Lungho


Why could you not


leave things alone? ALL last week I was feeding a little kitten; th a t someone had callously “dumped’’at the top of Pendle Road Jn Clitherbe, justbyafarmgate. • ■*:The farmer had told me about it


Wnle to: The Editor, Clilhcroe Advertiser and Times, 3 King Street, Clitheroc BB72EW or e-mail: vivien.mcatli@easllancsnews.co.uk


otherwise I would not have seen it as i t is only around 10 weeks old and very small. I put out a little “carry- box” with a piece of blanket, so it could be warm, and I went up three times a day to give it fresh food and water, and to hopefully regain its trust in people. . On Thursday evening I had man­


aged to borrow a humane eat trap an d had the promise of a loving home for it. I set the cage a t 8-20 p.m. and went home and hoped! On Friday at 7-15 a.m., full of


hope th a t I could a t last rescue it from maybe death by car, or just being frightened and on its own, I approached the gate only to find th a t someone had stolen the cage and thrown everything else to one side. I am so disgusted that people can­


not leave what is not theirs alone. I now face having to replace the cage to the rescue home from whom I had borrowed it at a cost of £85 and can’t risk putting another there, as th a t will also be stolen. I am still going and putting food down and only hope that whoever stole the cage did not get the kitten as well, as I dread to think what th a t person will do to a harmless little creature. All I can say is I hope you sleep at night, but i am sure you rest very, well. I would appeal to you to return it.


NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED A small thank-you


was all we needed TWO weeks ago my 13-year-old son was doing his Sunday morning paper round in Fountains Avenue, Simon- stone, when he came across a wallet th a t appeared to have dropped out of someone’s pocket by the side of a car.


He identified the owner by looking


inside and pushed the wallet through the letter box with a note saying who had found it and where we lived. If the owner of the wallet is read­


ing this I would just like to say that I hope you were grateful as your wal­ let contained numerous items such as bank cards, a driving licence and approximately £70 in cash. Andrew didn't expect a reward as


he has been brought up to be honest and i t would not have crossed his mind to do anything other than give the wallet back to its rightful owner with everything intact. But it would have been nice for him to receive a note pushed through our letter box saying.thank you. Honesty doesn’t always pay!


DENISE HAWORTH, 72 Whallcy Road, Read


Let us not forget


our armed forces MONDAY, September 15th, was Battle of Britain Day; I was aston­ ished that this wasn’t covered on TV, th e radio and in'the press. How many sat quietly like I did to give


. thanks to the Few? Have we so easily forgotten what this means to our lives today. Let us never forget those


from the past. Also our Armed Ser­ vices today who are serving in vari­ ous places of the world in our fight for survival.


MARTIN JAMES, Kingfisher, Grindlcton


The parents’ job to


entertain children I COULD not believe it when I read that the Government has earmarked £235m. for its Play Fair programme to develop play facilities for eight to 13-year-old children (“Cash to spend on fun for children”, September 4th, 2008). Of this enormous sum of money,


Lancashire is to spend £lm. on 20 to 25 play areas in the county. What I cannot understand is why


the state has to provide entertain­ ment to children at great cost to the taxpayer, when surely i t is the responsibility of parents to keep their own children occupied. Also, do children not get any exercise in their school's playground? Do we really want another 20 or so areas that may cause a nuisance or noise to people living near them?


SHIRLEY M.ADDY, The Hazels, Wilpshire


Loop will make


sessions better LAST September a lip-reading group for those with hearing difficul­ ties was s ta r ted in the Meeting Room a t Clitheroe Library. I, as tutor, took along a portable Induc­ tion Loop to make it easier for those with hearing aids to follow instruc­ tions and advice. After two or three weeks it was


suggested that as the room was used for lectures and slide presentations, etc. it should have a permanent loop system to comply with the Disabili­ ty Discrimination Act. Two members spoke with library


staff requesting this facility. Several weeks later, after consulting the RNID, a superb loop was installed making it much easier for the group to comprehend both tutors and oth­ ers.


It also means that next Tuesday


when the lip-reading begins again the sessions will be much easier than la s t September, thanks to the library!


With many thanks in advance.


CAROL RILEY, ChiUburn Road, Clithcroe


Spring Bridge gave


me quite a shock AS the owner of a s tatic caravan sited a t Shireburn, I have, over the years, enjoyed many trips across Spring Bridge on my way to and from Clitheroe town. After months of closure, I was


quite excited a t the prospect of once again being able to take what is, for . many, a scenic shortcut.


^ Shock and horror! Being of ^ e r -


age height (5ft. 9in.), I was confront­ ed by a structure that provides views only for the very short or extremely


tall. Is not the extra width and steep-


■ ness of the new bridge a greater attraction to cycle stunt riders to further endanger us mere elderly pedestrians, and will the appalling smell of the timber eventually fade?


NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED. Ragwort must be


taken seriously MANY supporters have contacted us recently to voice their concerns about ragwort, a weed which is blooming at the moment. As every horse owner and farmer


■ knows, ragwort contains toxins which can have debilitating or fatal consequences if eaten by horses and other grazing animals. Ragwort has its place in the coun­


tryside; it supports a wide variety of invertebrates and is a major nectar source for many insects, but it must be controlled, especially where there are horses and livestock. Land stewardship and animal hus­


bandry are both huge responsibilities and I know that they are taken seri­ ously by farmers, but it is important that the dangers posed by ragwort reach the widest possible audience. There is a growing concern that


some public bodies who own land, such as Local Authorities, are not taking the problem seriously and managing their land appropriately, but there is no excuse; a Code of Practice on how to stop the spread of ragwort is available from DEFRA. 'The Countryside Alliance will be


writing to all Local Authorities and other bodies in the coming weeks to remind them that they have a duty to control ragwort on their land and must be vigilant, especially where their land abuts farmland. The threat ragwort poses to ani­


mals cannot be underestimated and is something that all landowners, whether public or private, must take seriously.


SIMON HART, Chief Executive, Countryside Alliance


A country ruined


by wind turbines I WAS dismayed to read about the proposal to erect wind turbines on a site at East Marton and would like to recommend th a t the officials responsible fo the planning decision should pay a visit to Portugal to view the desecration of that once-


beautiful country by the prolifera­ tion of wind turbines. I have just returned from a holi­


day a t P raia Del Rey and was appalled at what I saw.


Going north from Lisbon virtual­


ly every skyline is dominated by these monstrous structures.


h Let’s hope that the same does not appen here.


ANDREW MOORE, Kenilworth Drive, Clitheroe


www.clitheroeadvertiser.co.uk


Ciitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 01282 478111 (Advertising), 01282 422331 (Classified) www.clitheroeadverliser.co.uk Welcome to world


of Blue Labour so the financial chief has f i n ^ admitted tha t the UK economy fllfc- dire straits.


■ paper. The national debt, which the UK


has been trying to reduce for the past 63 years, will have nearly doubled


since New Labour came to power placing us near the bottom of the world debt league. Our gold reserves sold off, while many pensioners and low-paid workers are having to decide between eating and heating, and while many of our schools and hospitals are financed by Private Finance Initiatives (PFI).


Weapons of mass destruction and


getting involved in other people’s wars - the sinful list is almost end­ less. This country is now worse off than ever before and New Labour still think we taxpayers are a bot­ tomless pit, while getting this coun­ try into the most futile mess for over 60 years.


■ Same old Labour - clueless on most things except spending and' wasting other people’s hard-earned money. For the past 21 years it has been a “credit card Government”, a nation built on debt. Welcome to the world of Gord and blue Labour.


BERT HARDWICK, Queensway, Waddington


Long distance call


for assistance A READER from Australia has co n ta c te d u s via our website (www.clitheroeadvertiser.co.uk) to seek help in locating the grave of her late uncle. A.s ever, our best source o f information is you-our readers - so we are passing on the challenge. Anyone who can help Mrs Gr i f f i t hs can e -m a il her direct or wr ite to the Clitheroe Advertiser and we will forward the information.


I READ an article published in your paper in 2007 about the proposed site of the old Calderstones ceme­ tery. I have been trying for some time to locate the'burial place of my uncle, who died, aged 11, in 1945 at Calderstones hospital. He was probably buried there, but


I have hit a brick wall as I have now been told most bodies from Calder­ stones Cemetery were exhumed. I can find no information about this after searching the web. Is this cor­ rect? And if it is, do you know where the bodies were re-interred? I t seems e-mailing Government


departments is very slow process as it sometimes takes weeks to get a reply, and as I am in Australia it makes it more difficult. Any infor­ mation you have would be very much appreciated. •


VAL GRIFFITHS, Auslraliu,' e-mail: vall952@bigpond.nct.au


• The Editor welcomes letters on any subject, but correspondents arc reminded that contributions may be edited or condensed and should roach us by noon on Tuesday. Letters with noms de plume are only accepted for publication if the editor agrees there is a valid reason for the writer's iden­ tity to be withhold.


Your letters . . . : -


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■ I hate to say this, but isn’t that - what I ’ve been saying for some time in previous letters to this very news-


Clitheroe 422324 (Editorial), 01282 478111 (Advertising), 01282 422331 (Classified) Library goes Chinese


A C H IN E S E -T H EM E D |H |p - in event was held at


- ^fftheroe Library following the success of th e Beijing Olympics.


More than 40 youngsters


made Chinese dragons and money boxes, as well as taking part in a treasure hunt and creating personalised book­ marks using Chinese charac­ ters to form their names. The event was par t of the


Team Read summer chal­ lenge, which finishes a t the end of this month. • On Saturday, Roald Dahl Day will be celebrated in the


children’s library in Clitheroe between 10 a.m. and noon. .. Based on the author’s pop­ ular novel “The Tw its”, a range of activities are planned with youngsters able to make Mr 'Twit masks, muggle- wump monkeys and test their knowledge with a Twits quiz. Anyone wanting to take


part in the free session can just turn up on the day. Our photograph shows


Megan and Karl Herkes dur­ ing the Chinese Olympics drop-in event a t Clitheroe Library.


(B290808/2)


Still chance to secure a place on Amelia Cup


PLACES are still avail­ able for this month’s Amelia Cup 10k run which will raise much- needed funds for sufferers of cystic fibrosis. Now in its sixth year, the


run is inspired by seven-year- old Amelia Dickinson, of ■Whalley, who suffers from the debilitating condition. Aimie Hamer, of Re:Fit


Personal Training and Gail Bailey, of Pure Health and Beauty in Clitheroe, who co­ organise the run along with Amelia’s mother Samantha Dickinson, are hoping this year’s event will bring them closer to their fund-raising target of £50,000. The fam ily -o r ien ta ted event, which will take place


on Sunday, September 28th, is open to both runners and walkers alike. E n try for th e run is


through sponsorship or £12- 50 a t enrolment, which will take place a t 'West Bradford ■Village Hall between 9-30 a.m. and 10-15 a.m. with a 10-30 a.m. start. For a sponsor form or to


pre-enrol contact Gail by e- mail a t the following: bailey- ga@supanet.com or by call­ ing 07980 743610. Anyone willing to help out


with the marshalling of the event should also give Gail a call. . Donations or payment for


enrolment can be made on the Just Giving web page a t www.justgiving.com/ameli- acuplOk


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Clitheroe Advertiser & Times, Thursday, September 18th, 2008 17


Advice day at football club


RIBBLE Valley residents suffer­ ing from Parkinson’s Disease are invited to an information after­ noon at Accrington Stanley Football Club in October. Organised by the Parkinson’s


Disease Society, sufferers will be offered advice and support at the event, which will take place from 11 a.m. and 2-30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 22nd. Benefits, pensions and carers


organisations will also be on hand and for further information contact Wendy Dwyer on 01254 235698.


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