Letters - Wednesday, April 1, 2020

As we all know by now, we in this great country are in the midst of a devastating pandemic, which is threatening our very existence, both individually and nationally.

Boris Johnson’s fiscal generosity will be of enormous assistance to both workers and businesses, but the cost will be huge and the effect on our national debt will be incalculable and will be a heavy burden on our people for generations to come.

We are desperately short of hospital beds, and despite the heroic efforts of our admirable NHS staff, it looks as though thousands of desperately ill patients will finish up being cared for in temporary field hospitals.

It is therefore extremely ironic therefore that whilst British citizens are in this parlous state, our Government is giving away to foreign nations gargantuan sums of money, £14bn per year, every year, called Overseas Development Aid.

I do not know how your readers feel about this profligate waste of our money but personally I believe that charity begins at home and we should, first and foremost, look after the needs of our own citizens.

Fourteen billion pounds spent on foreign aid would provide the UK and its long suffering NHS with 28 hospitals at a cost of £500m each.

Dick Lindley

via email

TOWN

Lytham lacks main cultural building

I have noticed that Lytham has grown and developed in the last 20 years since my wife and I retired here.

Judging by the number of new estates already built and others proposed, this trend is likely to continue.

In my opinion Lytham lacks a building to bring together its cultural activities. The vacant building in Clifton Street, which formerly housed the library, would be perfect for this purpose

The main problem would be finance and staffing. This could be solved by a minimum of paid staff and volunteers on a rota basis. Income would be derived from organisations using the premises plus some help from Fylde Council in the form of a direct grant or a reduction in the rates all to be approved by the Charities Commission.

Lytham once had an Information Centre but it was closed by the council some years ago.

Like it or not, Lytham is becoming a tourist attraction and needs a Tourist Information Office which could be sited on the ground floor.

Lytham has neither a museum nor an art gallery both of which would be an attraction. The council’s collection of paintings could be displayed and there are sufficient historical items available to make an attractive Museum.

Our new Lord of the Manor of Lytham could no doubt help with items at present housed in Preston.

Lytham St Annes Civic Society have a collection of old postcards of this area from which copies could be made.

Lytham St Annes Art Socety and Lytham St Annes Photographic Society might use it for exhibitions. Also musical concerts, dance organisations, fitness groups, lectures, a meeting room for Just Good Friends groups, a flower show, etc, there is no end of opportunities to which the premises could be used under the heading of Public Activities for the benefit of residents and visitors alike. It just needs organisation and enthusiasm to get things started.

Mr W A Comstive

Lytham

RESPONSE

Defence cash saves lives

An interesting letter from Philip Gilligan in the Lancashire Post (Your Say, Scrap Trident, March 20).

The point he makes is valid, we have tiers of threat, and they all require massive amounts of money.

But we prioritise one to the detriment of another.

At the moment, our ailing health service is at the forefront of all our minds.

In a future time, the threat of global war may well be the issue of the day.

We cannot drop the funding of all for the sake of the immediate priority, whatever that might be.

As Mr Gilligan says, we do, indeed, have the right to live in peace. Defence funding is crucial to help ensure that end, and to help save lives by discouraging those who would seek to harm us.

Stephanie Bruntlett

Address supplied

BBC

Will BBC stop huge fees now?

Now the pandemic is affecting everyone, and thousands of people are losing their jobs and their income, is the BBC going to stop paying presenters like Gary Lineker obscenely high fees while the working class are struggling to live, let alone pay for a TV licence?

Peter Hyde

Address supplied