Letters - February 27, 2017

The Fylde Bird Club hasbeen monitoring the site very closely, and obtained permission to site a suitable next box on top of the church tower to encourage them to breed. I was given the task of making the nest box, which I did from plans of peregrine next boxes already occupied in similar situations.

The plan proved to be a great success and breeding was confirmed last year with at least two and possibly three young fledged.

The report in the newspaper states the dead bird was found on the top of the tower, and examined by, I presume, a vet or someone similar.

The bird must have been shot from below the tower in the car park or the grassed area, and I suspect with an air rifle that is beyond the legal limit. At that range I would be very surprised to actually kill a bird of that size unless the bird was hit in the head. If the person who shot the peregrine at St Thomas’s is reading this I would just like to say that a fine and short spell in prison is not enough punishment for what you did and the chances are you will get away with it.

If anyone knows who committed this offence or has any information that may help the investigation please contact me or the Fylde Bird Club. My number is 01772 396696 and Fylde Bird Club chairman Paul Ellis is on 01253 811726 (evenings).

Monty Myerscough

St Annes

THANKS

Good Samaritan found my purse

May I say thank you to the kind lady who found and handed in my handbag at Sainsbury’s, Red Bank Road, Bispham on Friday morning.

I had left it hanging in my trolley in the car park. The lady did not leave her name or address so I could not thank her personally, so I hope she reads The Gazette and now knows how grateful I am for her honesty and the return of my handbag.

Doreen Houghton

Devonshire Road

Blackpool

ANIMALS

They should ban circus animals

I’m shocked and saddened to hear that on Facebook there are to be several circuses performing this year – Chipperfield, Peter Jolly’s Circus and Circus Mondao, which has been in Lancashire in particular Blackpool using wild animals.

David Cameron failed to act on his word to get wild animals out of circuses by January 2015 despite overwhelming public approval of a ban, Britain has still failed to honour the pledge.

Wild animals, when they’re not being forced to perform tricks under threat of the whip, are chained up, confined to grubby trailers.

Who among us can forget the ill treatment of Anne the elephant in Bobby Robert’s Circus.

Please write to Prime Minister Theresa May, Downing Street, urging her to put in place a ban on wild animals in circuses.

Jeffrey Bilham

address supplied

HEALTH

I’m prepared to pay for my healthcare

We have to pay when we go to the dentist and when we take our pets to the vets. Therefore why not when we go to a hospital?

We cannot keep throwing all this money at the NHS.

I am retired, but am prepared to pay for my medical attention.

Charlie Telfer

via email

POLITICS

Does Blair have a hidden agenda?

Tony Blair’s recent cajoling of Remain voters to “rise up” against the Government’s drive for Brexit is highly ironic considering the way he ignored those who rose up against his personal drive for war against Iraq and Afghanistan.

Wars which have not only cost this nation billions of pounds, but which are arguably responsible for the rise of ISIS, as well as the current refugee crisis.

It’s an irony matched only by arrogance, as Blair declares that the public desire for Brexit was “based on imperfect knowledge”.

Now, where have I heard that one before? Oh yes, the Chilcot report.

However, Blair is probably correct in some ways.

Much of the information presented by both Leave and Remain was indeed poor, and not always based upon fact, but argument, assumption and half-truths. We should also not forget Cameron’s and Osborne’s own attempted cajoling of the electorate via ‘Project Fear’. And it is clear that some people do have a very ill-informed perception of the EU and its processes, judging by the comments you hear all the time upon social media.

Perceptions such as the EU being ‘unelected’ and ‘imposing’ unwanted rules and regulations upon us.

Having said that, the vote has been cast and it is not Blair’s place to instigate a public ‘uprising’.

However, his latest intervention may be less to do with instigating a Brexit rebellion and more to do with rallying his former troops within the Parliamentary Labour Party to instigate another leadership rebellion?

Paul Dodenhoff

address supplied