'Worcester can stand proud'

SIR – Your  Editorial about Royal Visits and pride is both important and timely.

The Three Choirs’ Festival which, with Prince Charles’ visit, prompted the piece has just finished.

It once again showed itself to be an event of international quality, attracting visitors from across the world. Citizens of Worcester can indeed be proud.

But there is more to it than that. One of the things I did during the week was to try to talk to as many people as possible, particularly to those visiting from either elsewhere in the UK or overseas.

The repeated comment was about how friendly and helpful the host city and its residents are and how eager  they are to show off their city to others.

That is evidence of pride and community if ever there was. Thank you,Worcester!

Michael Clarke

Chair, Worcester Three Choirs' Festival

'Football club must change'

SIR – With the board of WCFC distancing itself from the ST appeal against the stadium rejection, would it not be an opportunity for them to outline their long term strategy for the club?

With no stadium or contractual playing staff, they are going to be in a vulnerable position both financially and competitively.

Any success they have on the field is going to attract the advances of higher ranking teams who will be able to pick off the playing talent available.

I honestly believe the only credible future for football in Worcester is forsake history and tradition and form a new club with a more flexible and modern system of hierarchy.

It’s time the fans who are the lifeblood of the club had a more active role in the decision making.

Out with the old, in with the new.

Kenneth Powell

Worcester

'Report unfair to A&E staff'

SIR – Re: ‘My hospital nightmare’

What a shame that the gentleman did not appreciate that now he was fit enough to be discharged, there might be someone more critically ill requiring his space.,

This weekend my mother, who is 92, spent five hours on Saturday evening in A&E and was then readmitted early Sunday evening and we did the night.

Yes, she was on a trolley – there is no practical alternative – and initially examined in a makeshift cubicle. The staff could not have done more to ensure her privacy. Nothing was too much trouble.

Over the years I have had some good and bad experiences in our NHS but I have nothing but praise for our staff in A& E at Worcester Royal who are doing a fantastic job in very difficult circumstances over which they have no control.

They deserve our gratitude and not criticism.

L Cameron

Worcester

'Concerns at fire changes'

SIR – I was amused to read in last week’s article about “cobbled together” weekend fire crews, that the spokesman for Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service confirmed the various anomalies in the “changes” to the service.

Anomalies to which I had drawn attention in my letter of 14.7.17:

Specifically: He confirmed that full-time fire fighters would work 4.5hrs more per week, but in addition, would be asked to take up part-time weekend contracts.

He confirmed that the newly appointed part-time weekend crews may not have the necessary specialist skills or be familiar with the local area.

His rather casual solution is that they “can” acquire the essential skills and develop knowledge of the local area “over time.”

Presumably we just have to hope that no serious incidents occur in the meantime, however long that may be!

Caroline Carver

Malvern

'The whistle has sounded'

SIR – In response to the letter posted by Peter Clarke (Worcester City stadium planning application), anti social behaviour will, without doubt become an issue as our lives are blighted by this already, so why present another opportunity for this to occur impacting on the lives of the people living in the area.

As for litter, just visit areas where sporting events and stadiums are currently built and my comment will be answered for you.

The area is a wonderful open green space providing clean air and a place for all to enjoy and should never to blighted by any other building regardless of use.

Finally to Mr Clarke, you are unlikely to be able to see it as you live in leafy Littleworth so it WON’T impact on you will it?

The final whistle has sounded accept the result and move onto somewhere else, we can all do without extra time as this issue has caused enough worry and stress for all.

Dave Clayton

Worcester

'Trump’s view is repulsive'

SIR – It was not a pretty sight on the news to watch President Trump declare that transgender people will be barred from serving in the US military.  No reason given.

 Behind him hung a plaque saying “Integrity at the Helm”.

 I would guess that I am not alone in finding this kind of attitude quite repulsive;  he ignores the fact that all approaches to sexuality served and died in the Vietnam war.

 Integrity –  “wholeness”,  “soundness”, “uprightness”, “honesty”,  all sadly absent in him.  

 This could be decribed unashamedly as a load of old “baloney”  (origin unknown).  To be truthful I prefer a less polite term in the plural ...

Wendy Hands

Upton-upon-Severn

'I question police advice'

SIR – You report that West Mercia Police are advising women to avoid walking alone at night following the recent string of sexual assaults by a man (or men) on a bicycle.

While no doubt well intentioned, this advice seems to me to be fundamentally misconceived.

First, two of the of the reported offences have taken place between 7.45 and 8.25pm which is broad daylight at this time of year, making this advice irrelevant to those offence.

Second, the advice is not practical for a woman going to (or returning from) an evening job, or else a single woman simply wanting to enjoy an evening out, which is her absolute right.

Third, it carries the inevitable implication that if a woman is attacked when on her own after dark then she was going against police advice and is therefore somehow responsible for what happened to her because she failed to follow police advice.

Women are perfectly capable of making their own decisions and of taking any additional precautions they want. But it is wrong for some 40,000 women in Worcester to be told that they should limit how they live their lives because the police have so far failed to catch this predator.

This is the UK not Saudi Arabia and it is quite wrong for women to be “advised” that they should not go out on their own.

Kelvin Hard

Worcester

'We need a crossing here'

SIR – Does anyone actually know why we are paying for two men to stand for hours at a time at the Norton roundabout to help pedestrians across the road, instead of putting in a crossing?

What little information I can find about it suggests that it will be years before the bridge is in place.

Surely putting in a crossing would be more cost effective?

If not, can’t they be given some kind of shelter?

Zoe Johnston

Worcester

'But not the right answer'

SIR – Reading Ken Pollack’s ‘I have the answer’ he says there are plans to expand junction 6 of M5.

I take it is to wait until the business site is full with 5,000 cars and Copcut and Yew Tree Hill estates in Driotwich are finished with another 1,000 cars then close or restrict access to M5 at junction 6 while it is expanded – a typical short-sighted council attitude.

We already have long queues at junctions 4, 5 and 6 during rush hour so let’s make it worse.

The council that he is a cabinet member of could not arrange a party in a brewery.

Paul Chandler

Droitwich