Letters - August 23, 2016

Traffic

Lack of progress on road is staggering

My wife and I have been in the very fortunate position over the last 12 months to visit a lovely area on the Western coast Florida that we hope one day to move to permanently. Off the beaten track but getting more well known as time goes by.

Due to this increase in interest and subsequent increase in traffic movements, upgrading of local roads have been carried out and would you believe that a new, four lane, reinforced concrete bridge over a river and widening of around a mile of single lane carriageway had been carried out during the five months between our two visits. Astounding.

Meanwhile, back home, we have had a month of traffic chaos between St Annes and Blackpool, also affecting the one and only other route into St Annes, namely Queensway, causing absolute gridlock, during school holidays and the height of the tourist season. ‘This must be some major Civil Engineering project’, I hear you say. No, it is the construction of 2 small pedestrian crossing islands with an electrical pole stuck out of each one.

For those of us that need to travel to Blackpool from St Annes, outside of the rush hour, on a daily basis, it is completely unacceptable and the lack of progress on a pathetically small project is, frankly, staggering.

A Newman aka ‘Late for every meeting’

St. Annes

Praise

Spitfire museum is flying high

Today we visited the spitfire museum open day at Blackpool airport.

What a joy! My husband is an enthusiast but I thoroughly enjoyed it. All the volunteers are so knowledgeable and happy to discuss their passion. They are all doing a wonderful job of maintaining and restoring the planes and artefacts for future generations to enjoy. Chocks away and best wishes for the future.

Kathleen Bond

Via email

Appeal

Helping those affected by diabetes

While three quarters of us give regularly to charity in our lifetime, only seven per cent give to a charity in their Wills.

Remember A Charity in your Will Week runs from 12 to 18 September and is all about showing how much of a difference a gift in your Will can make.

At Diabetes UK, Gifts in Wills make a huge difference to the lives of the millions of people living with diabetes. They help us fund research, campaign on key issues, and offer education and support to more people who need it.

There are now four million people with diabetes in the UK, a number that is growing rapidly, with 11.9 million people at increased risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. It can be a serious, even life-threatening condition – but the right support at the right time helps people to manage it and live long, healthy lives.

Talking about Wills isn’t an easy conversation to have, and Diabetes UK understands that family and friends must always come first. All we ask is that you consider leaving a gift to Diabetes UK. Every gift will help improve the lives of people living with and at risk of diabetes.

If you would like to speak to our Gifts in Wills Team, call 020 7424 1853, email [email protected] or visit diabetes.org.uk/legacies.

Lara Dobson,

Diabetes UK

Olympics

Team GB shows what we can do as nation

Congratulations to Team GB, what a fantastic result in Rio. We should all be very proud of them, they have raised our spirits and put the Great back in Britain.

Our Olympian athletes, ahead of China in the medal table, have achieved the best results in over 100 years and created GB as a sporting super-power which bodes well for Tokyo in four years time.

What they have achieved by their sheer determination, proves what we can do as an independent nation, taking up our position in big wide world again. Their legacy should be our inspiration for the future. Well done Team GB.

Philip Griffiths

North West President, UKIP (UK Independence Party)

Flag

Great olympics but a bit back to front...

It was good to hear of British successes at the Olympic Games. However, many GB participants and supporters at the Games in their enthusiasm were waving the Union Flag incorrectly.

A common misconception is that it is upside down when this happens.

But it is back to front. Unless being flown on a flagpole, when the reverse of the flag will be shown at the front, upside down makes no difference to the correctness of the design. Try it!

Elisabeth Baker

Address supplied

Politics

Labour lacks business sense

Judging by recent speeches, I am afraid Labour, like the leopard, will not be changing its spots. Its policy, such as it is, seems to boil down to how best to distribute the nation’s resources rather than how to generate or encourage wealth creation. This does seem to be attractive enough to some sections of the voters, but Labour does seem to be reverting to its historic priority of putting the emphasis on increasing expenditure with insufficient attention to finding the extra money required. Raising taxes stifles business.

Mr Corbyn played a large part in the Brexit vote by his failure to mobilise his party’s support for the EU, but the resulting damage to the economy hardly helps him to achieve his aim to increase spending by the state.

Labour’s parliamentary party seems largely composed of people with little experience of business or the supply side of the economy so there can be little confidence in their ability to improve the economy before they start spending the proceeds.

Don Burslam

Via email