'Memories of City ground'

SIR – Remembering the past and defining the future Until fairly recently ‘The Lane’ was the home of the Worcester City football ground.

Their finest hour was the trouncing of Liverpool FC in the FA Cup in 1959 when at least 15,000 supporters filled the ground. The score was 2-1!

Gone now is the iconic stadium, replaced by a vibrant new development of town houses and stunning apartments overlooking the Worcester Birmingham canal.

Also gone is the old Cavalier Tavern, to be replaced by a superb block of apartments for assisted livings. It is to be hoped that a new stadium can be built for a city with a growing new population.

Constance Bowcott

Worcester

'Angry attack on current crop'

SIR – John Phillpott’s angry and embittered attack on ‘the present crop of youngsters’ (Worcester News, June 10) omits important questions.

Which generation raised the parents of the present ‘most selfish’ pampered generation in history?

What parenting skills did the members of that generation pass on to their children if his analysis of the young people of today is correct?

Ruth Davies

Malvern

'I don’t want this ranting'

SIR– Help! Can you help me find the real Phillpott? I’m referring to the one who, until recently, wrote thoughtful and mainly gentle columns which I found really entertaining (even though I disagree entirely with his political views).

He seems to have been replaced with a new bitter and twisted Phillpott who has taken to ranting unpleasantly in his column on a regular basis, his latest tirade being against the late Dr Spock who wrote one of the few common sense books on child rearing ever published.

If I want to hear unpleasant ranting I can always buy a copy of the Daily Mail; I don’t expect to read it in my Worcester News.

Simon Gardner

Malvern

'Long wait for a transplant'

SIR – I’m writing to let your readers know that right now in Herefordshire and Worcestershire there are 51 people (10 in Herefordshire and 41 in Worcestershire) currently waiting for a kidney transplant, and every single day in the UK one person will die while waiting for their kidney.

This has to change.

Most people don’t want to think about their kidneys, but the reality is that one in eight people will develop chronic kidney disease which can affect their general health and may ultimately mean they might need dialysis or a transplant in order to stay alive.

The average time waiting for a kidney on the transplant list is three years and there are almost 30,000 people on dialysis in the UK, a treatment that leaves patients hooked up to machines for hours at a time for several days every week, which has a knock-on impact on their ability to study, work, socialise and ultimately live their lives to the full.

Kidney patients constantly tell us that greater awareness of  kidney disease and the impact it can have on their lives would be life-changing for them, which is why we’re calling on your readers to become kidney aware by visiting www.kidneycareuk.org.

We are here to ensure that no one in Herefordshire and Worcestershire has to face kidney disease alone.

Paddy Tabor

Chief Executive, Kidney Care UK

'Grey squirrels are innocent'

SIR – I was very pleased to see the lovely picture of a grey squirrel, by Ellen Beales, in your June 3 edition.

However, the photo was also a sad reminder of how these animals are being persecuted throughout the country, and unfairly scapegoated for the decline of the red squirrel.

It is humans, and not grey squirrels, that have been largely responsible for the decline of the red squirrel, who were themselves once viewed as ‘pests’ and killed in their thousands.  More recently, a series of harsh winters and disease epidemics has further depleted red squirrel populations throughout the country.

And a report from Bristol University has shown there is little evidence to support the view that killing grey squirrels is the best way of conserving red ones.

Lily Michaels

Evesham

'Saddened by their plight'

SIR – I have never written to a newspaper before, but I am deeply saddened by the desperate plight of so many destitute families in Worcester, leading to children growing up in poverty; the fact of which was highlighted by your article explaining that the food bank is being used by so many people that supplies are running low.

In an affluent city such as ours, for families to live in poverty because of benefit cuts and dismally low wages while Robin Walker celebrates his £75,000-plus annual income (before extra income and expenses) is shameful. Perhaps he could show his commitment to all people in this city by giving a monthly donation to the food bank?

T Sadler

Worcester