Letters - December 12, 2016

TRANSPORTWe must return to the green and creamWilf Greaves, (Your Say, Gazette, December 1) would like to see a return to the 'proper' green and cream colours on our buses.
Blackpool has seen buses decked out in a bewildering array of coloursBlackpool has seen buses decked out in a bewildering array of colours
Blackpool has seen buses decked out in a bewildering array of colours

I would go further and say that most of the population of Blackpool Borough, if given the choice, would choose a return to this bright and breezy holiday town colour scheme for all the trams, buses, bus stops, shelters, logos and buildings!

It would be a good start to give our town back some form of identity that we could all relate to, instead of separate colours all over the place, giving the impression, (especially to visitors), of nobody caring or being in charge of the largest holiday resort in the UK.

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Why was the decision made, years ago, to change to the purple and white corporate colours of nearby inland town Blackburn Corporation? Then we end up with horrible black and yellow for some our buses and a period of ill-fated colour coded bus routes.

Can the people who make these decisions not see the folly of this? Dull or mixed colours for a holiday destination... come on, get a grip. It was great when we had green and cream throughout the town.

The trams now blend in to the background on a busy prom, the buses are either black and yellow or primer coat grey and custard, the bus shelters and promenade shelters are a mix of green and cream, and purple and white. It is a total mismatch. We are reduced to volunteers having to repaint/repair some promenade shelters at Bispham in green and cream. They will look great again when finished though... well done to them!

Oh yes, it will cost money, but it will be well spent, and cheaper than some other recent decisions. We would see what we get for our money all over town.

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It could be the catalyst of bringing some pride and sense of identity back to the residents of Blackpool.

These things do matter to people, and do make a difference as to how people feel about a town.

I say let’s get back to green and cream – referendum with council tax demand anyone?

Kevin Jackson

Kinnerton Place

Thornton Cleveleys

TRANSPORT

It must be better than wartime grey

I was interested to read the letter from Wilf Greaves regarding bus 524 in the traditional Blackpool colours. I have encountered it on a number of occasions and it looks so refreshing compared to the drab grey of newer vehicles.

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I grew up in Whitehaven during the war years and a number of ‘utility’ buses, some with wooden seats, were delivered to Cumberland Motor Services in a very similar shade of grey with limited white relief. Existing buses which needed repainting received the same drab colour.

Since then, I have always thought of this colour as ‘Wartime Grey’. At the earliest opportunity after the war, the operator repainted the buses in their traditional red and cream livery .

Harry Postlethwaite,

Transport Author, Norkeed Road, Little Bispham

transport

I didn’t mind the old ‘psychedelic’ scheme

With reference to letter from Wilf Greaves (Your Say, Gazette, December 1). Yes I agree the old green and cream livery was ok, but so were the psychedelic metro colours.

The multi-coloured livery was helpful to those passengers with visual impairment. With the colours all the same again, passengers now have to wait until the buses are on top of them before they can read which service it is.

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My late father was one of the first single deck bus drivers for Blackpool Transport many years ago, driving bus number 13 on the service 6 route from the old Cherry tree Gardens. Summer uniform was a cream short-sleeved jacket, and, if I remember, green trousers.

Sandgrownun

Milburn Avenue

Cleveleys

CARE

We call for clarity on care homes

New research from Independent Age, the older people’s charity, has found that over half of British adults (52 per cent) believe that abuse and neglect in care homes for the elderly is common. Of those, many say their opinion is based on personal experience – either knowing someone in a care home, working in a care home, or hearing personal experience from others.

Our new report, Shining a Light on Care: Helping People Make Better Care Home Choices, calls for new measures to understand the scale of the problem.

We want the government to take responsibility for collecting core information about care homes to give earlier warnings of a home providing poor care.

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Better information about quality of care must be made available to the public when choosing care.

We have two free advice guides available to download or order, which may help people affected by these issues.

Order the how to find the right care home guide for free at independentage.org/care-home-guide or by calling 0800 319 6789. Those who need more targeted guidance can call the free Independent Age helpline on 0800 319 6789 to arrange to speak to an expert adviser.

The free Independent Age advice line (0800 319 6789) can offer advice to those who think they are being abused or may be at risk of abuse so please do get in touch if you have any concerns.

Janet Morrison

Chief Executive, Independent Age

SHOPPING

Guilty of whitewash on Black Friday

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I was interested to listen to a chief executive officer bemoaning Black Friday.

He said it’s no gain for staff as they get no extra pay for the increased workload, neither the staff in stores nor in warehouses, and delivery staff get no extra either.

Discounts are a sham as many items aren’t actually worth the discount percentage anyway in real terms.

Nobody really benefits. It’s all media manipulation on social websites and store websites.

R Kimble

address supplied

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