Letters - February 1, 2018

Living in the 1940s, parked cars were non-existent because nobody could afford to run one.

Passing motor transport down the street was infrequent – the regular user being the horse-drawn brewery and coal carts, together with the manual fruit and veg, and rag and bone ones.

In this traffic-free area, the children were able to play in relative safety.

The boys and girls played hopscotch on the pavement, marbles in the street gutters. On the pavement, an intrepid gambler would prop up a 3d or 6d piece at a very low angle.

From a distance, challengers rolled their marbles trying to hit the target and win the money – only genuine coloured marbles were allowed, no colourless ‘gobstoppers’.

I remember coming home at the end of the day with a shilling winnings for successful hits, and a pocketful of marbles which I had won from my turn setting up the target. Throwing cigarette cards at the side of house walls was another pastime – nearest one took the card.

We also played whips and tops, and turned skipping ropes across the street in which both girls and boys joined. There were impromptu football games with a rubber/tennis ball with the passageways as goals.

Cricket was played with the street lamppost as the wicket. Should the soft ball be hit onto a house roof, someone would climb the drain pipe to retrieve it, or if that was too dangerous, we would improvise a long piece of string with a solid object on the end and throw it onto the roof gutter and try to drag the ball down.

There were relay races around neighbouring streets and tag games.

Many of us can look back with appreciation of the community spirit in the 1940s and wish that the children of today could enjoy the fun that we had in a safe environment in our childhood days.

Cyril Olsen

Address supplied

TELEVISION

Dancing to a different tune

How many more adverts are going to appear on television with people dancing?

What has dancing got to do with what they are trying to sell?

They have people dancing in supermarkets, people dancing on top of a plane (a fake one of course), people dancing in the street/road, even in launderettes.

How long will it be before we see a funeral advert with the cortege dancing through a cemetery, the coffin lid flies open and the corpse sits up and says, ‘if I had known that my funeral was going to be this good I would have popped off earlier!’

R Tomlinson

Via email

BREXIT

No more EU rules during transition

As an MEP who has spent many an hour in the European Parliament I find the row over the UK potentially losing the right to attend key committee meetings both amusing and depressing in equal measure.

Amusing because our influence in EU decisions has always been minuscule anyway and depressing because it is something else that doubtless our negotiators will concede.

We voted to leave in 2016 and we should not be subject to new EU laws made during the Brexit transition period, particularly without voting rights. The mountain of rules and regulations that manacle business in this country is one of the reasons the majority voted to regain our independence.

Plans by EU negotiators to generously say that some of the other 27 states could ‘invite’ Britain to observe some committee meetings without any right to influence its content just demonstrates the low regard in which we are held.

Paul Nuttall

North West MEP
UK Independence Party

INDUSTRY

No surprise at Carillion news

Whilst I was watching the lunchtime news today, it was reported that the shamed firm Carillion had continued to pay managers their bonuses, while avoiding paying money into the workers’ pension fund. Hands up all those who are the tiniest bit surprised? No, I thought not!

ALLAN FAZACKERLEY

via email

ROBOTS

How can automation help the workers?

Following the forthcoming disaster known as Brexit, another catastrophe is looming over the horizon.

A recent economic survey commissioned by this government (no less) forecasts that about half a million jobs will be lost in the North West due to the rising tide of automation.

The region that will be worst hit will be Blackburn.

Those in favour of this development (mostly those of the Conservative persuasion) argue that this will be a step upwards into a capitalist paradise of untold riches for all.

They must firstly answer this question: when, in the history of “technological innovation” has this ever resulted in shorter working hours or higher wages for ordinary working people? No prizes for the answer. Never.

John Prance

Via email