Last updated 12:09, Thursday, 27 March 2008

SIR – I regret that the MP for Copeland, unlike his colleague in Carlisle, 18 other Labour MPs and almost every MP for the other parties, chose not to support a motion in the House of Commons which would have suspended plans to close eight post offices in Copeland and 2,500 others round the country.

sign of things to come: The scene inside a Cumbrian post office this week could become yet more familiar

SIR – I regret that the MP for Copeland, unlike his colleague in Carlisle, 18 other Labour MPs and almost every MP for the other parties, chose not to support a motion in the House of Commons which would have suspended plans to close eight post offices in Copeland and 2,500 others round the country.
I was doubly disappointed that he quite literally added insult to injury by accusing the Conservative mover of the motion of insulting the intelligence of his constituents and of a “cynical political ploy”.
Then, within hours of him voting down a motion to halt the closure programme, his office was ringing round the affected local post offices asking them to put up petitions with his name at the top opposing the closures. Somebody is indeed insulting the intelligence of residents of West Cumbria, but it isn’t the Conservatives.
Perhaps our MP should have paid more attention to those of his colleagues who put their local post offices before party politics and voted for the Conservative motion, such as Labour MPs Geraldine Smith, who worked for the post office for 18 years, and Kate Hoey, chair of the all-party Post Offices group, who said that: “Any member of the public reading the Opposition’s motion would find it strange that anyone could vote against it, particularly those who are concerned about their own post offices and what is happening in their constituencies. The suspension of the compulsory closure of sub-post offices while all the issues are reassessed is common sense, and no one should feel they are being disloyal to their party or the Government in voting for it.”
I hope that we can all work together over the coming weeks to support local post offices – and refusing to support other people’s campaigns and motions on the basis of a party-political “not invented here” syndrome will not help.
Coun Chris WHITESIDE
Conservative PPC for Copeland

SIR – It is extremely disappointing to read that Copeland’s MP Jamie Reed has supported his government in actions which will result in the closure of eight sub-post offices in Copeland.
What is just as appalling is that less than 24 hours later he and his cronies were running around the borough circulating petitions to  keep our post offices open.
Who does he think he is kidding with this hypocritical behaviour? He could have followed the lead of his fellow Labour MP for Carlisle and supported the Tory motion.
Instead, he chooses to try to insult our intelligence by saying one thing when he is in Copeland, but voting differently when he is in Westminster.
Is it that our MP is more interested in ingratiating himself with his paymasters in the House of Commons than he is in protecting the interests of the communities who put him there? One must suppose him to be one of many of the career politicians who put their promotion within their party as their first priority.
Regarding the petition, we wonder if Mr Reed is aware that no matter how many names are on a single petition document, it counts as only one objection by Post Office Watch. Also all duplicated letters will be similarly counted as one objection.
In order to avoid this sneaky discounting of signatures, each individual letter should be hand written and signed by the writer, and forwarded to: Richard Lynds, Network Development Manager, Post Office Ltd, c/o National Consultation Team, Freepost Consultation Team or email consultation@postoffice.co.uk.
It is our intention as councillors representing the Gosforth and Beckermet villages which are hit by the post offices closures to invite Mr Reed and a representative from the Post Office to attend a public meeting to justify these closures.
The Government talk about protecting rural communities and rural proofing of council decisions, but they themselves systematically take actions which further disadvantage us.
Without our village post offices and the services they provide, many people, including the elderly and those without a car, will be even further marginalised. Do they not know that most of our villages have little or no public transport?
It is only a couple of weeks since we were all asked to write letters to the Health Trust to try to save and re-instate our lost hospital services.
Where will all this end?
Coun Yvonne CLARKSON
Copeland Borough Council, Beckermet Ward
Coun Norman CLARKSON
Cumbria County Council
Gosforth and Ennerdale Division
 
SIR – No doubt many of your readers will be upset by the outcome of last week’s shameless vote to axe more than 2,000 post offices. Indeed there had been a belief that the Government would be beaten, however when it came to the crunch 65 changed their tune in favour of the mass closures, obviously the needs of the party overriding that of the many communities who depend on their post offices.
Reports over the weekend suggest that because of the backlash back at their constituencies many MPs now regret their actions, and I wonder if our MP Jamie Reed now regrets not joining Eric Martlew MP for Carlisle, one of the 19 who put the needs of his voters before the party and voted against the closures.
F G CATTANACH
Loop Road South, Whitehaven

SIR – I note with interest the local MP’s comments re the proposed closure of Whitehaven tax office. Each of the arguments could be applied to local post office closures with even greater social consequences scattered across the rural areas of his own constituency.
Did he vote in favour of closing the POs? I am an exiled West Cumbrian.
Bob MATTHEWS

Ice rink for Whitehaven?
SIR – In your March 13 edition in the article “The Counter Attack – traders and shopkeepers are fighting back to put pride back into Whitehaven,” John Pollock of CL Leathers, in Roper Street, suggested that the town should start fund-raising for a permanent facility such as an ice rink as the nearest was in Dumfries.
Jayne Laine commented that a temporary ice rink had been installed previously in Castle Park and was underused. This is not fair comment as a proper ice rink is housed inside a building and protected from the weather.
 Ice skating is becoming very popular to watch. The programme Skating on Ice attracts many viewers. An ice rink would attract children and older people. A place where families can be together and enjoy themselves, teenagers would have somewhere to go rather than roam the streets.
I was born in the forties and so when I was a child kids went to Brownies, Guides, Cubs, Scouts more so than they do now. Nowadays they have TV, computers, Playstations etc and don’t venture out as much as we did.
Also when we were teenagers there were youth clubs. Also we went to coffee bars where we used to meet our friends  and listen to the juke box. There is not so much for teenagers these days.
Allan Mossop said: “There’s not enough people to support an ice rink full time. We will not get people from places like Keswick and Wigton to come to Whitehaven to skate.”
Obviously Wigton is nearer to Dumfries. What about the people from Cockermouth, Workington to Whitehaven and surrounding districts, to Gosforth, Seascale, Eskdale etc?
Coun Wormstrup said they had looked at facilities such as an ice rink but that it “didn’t stack up financially”. “We could not get the numbers in.” Well there’s a thing – what about Whitehaven’s biggest white elephant ever, The Beacon? Does that stack up financially? Does that get numbers in? It has eaten money after money! I am sure an ice rink would be much more successful.
Name and address supplied

Cot death group decides to close
SIR – In 1987 a group of parents in West Cumbria, who had all experienced the tragedy of a cot death, came together to form the West Cumbria Cot Death Support Group. Its aims were to provide help to families who might suffer a similar tragedy and to raise funds for research via the parent body, The Foundation for The Study of Infant Deaths.
In 1987 in England and Wales there were approximately 2,000 cot deaths recorded. In 2005 there were just over 200 of these deaths recorded. The dramatic improvement has come about through research which has identified three factors which appear to be linked to sudden infant death. These are the sleeping position of babies (sleeping on the back now recommended), not overheating babies and keeping the room temperature at an even level, and reduction in parents’ smoking.
Over the years the group has raised many thousands of pounds thanks to the people of West Cumbria. This money has provided equipment such as monitors for our local hospital, room thermometers given out to parents and also funded research and support by the Foundation.
However membership of the support group has fallen and the original parents involved are now becoming grandparents! So the group has decided to close.
Once again we thank all those people in the district who have supported us. The Foundation continues to provide money for education and research and also supports those families who contact them.
Donations may still be sent to The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths, Artillery House, 11-19 Artillery Row, London SW1P 1RT.
Elizabeth MARRS, Chair
Elizabeth Szandurski, Secretary
Anne Walker, Treasurer
West Cumbria Cot Death Support Group

Thanks for the memory, Grace
SIR – Thanks to your correspondent Grace Sloan (The Whitehaven News, March 19) for reminding me of the happy times spent in the Empress Ballroom.
I played the piano during intervals in the late 1940s.   The manager at the time was Bill Armstrong, who was also connected with the saleroom downstairs.  I still play the old tunes but now on an electric keyboard. Thanks again for happy memories.
I’m now off to catch A Train or the Chatanooga Choo Choo or maybe I will fly with Skyliner instead but that will depend if I am In the Mood.
Thanks For the Memory.
J.P. FARRAN
Thorny Road , Thornhill

Don’t judge  him by his hairstyle
SIR – Re Curtis Percival’s hairstyle.
I find it hard to believe that a hairstyle could cause so much controversy. 
As a mother of three well-behaved boys who have all had various styles and colours  in their hair, it really annoys me when other people think that by letting your  child be an individual and choose their own hairstyle that you can’t have very  good parenting skills or care about your child’s education, which is completely  wrong.
I don’t see why people think a different hairstyle would affect  Curtis’s ability to go to school and learn. It seems what it does affect is  the way some small-minded people judge people by the way they look.
As the old  saying goes “you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover”. Everyone has the right to be  different and we as parents should support this. I’m not saying the school  shouldn’t have rules but we are talking about a hairstyle. How important is a child’s hair as long as they are well behaved in  school and willing to learn? 
 Name and address supplied

Lamplugh: the forgotten parish
SIR – At this present time our parish is “stagnating”. No vicar, no school, no post office, no shop, no doctors surgery for five miles, no pub and maybe no bus service unless funding is forthcoming. This is the forgotten parish.
I was born and bred in this parish. I have lived in the same house for 72 years. I walked to school and for a bus to my workplace, at least two miles each way. Never did me any ill – and probably would do some people good nowadays.
There is a good excuse for our young people hanging about in the nearest villages and towns – there’s nothing much to do in Lamplugh.
At present we are trying to get functions in our WI Hall. A meeting took place recently and was well attended. We need a few functions going on, especially in the winter. We need discos for the teenagers, dances for the over 40s,  bingo for anyone who likes it, an odd whist drive etc.
The hall has been a bone of contention for years. I know it is hard work trying to get folks away from their TV screens, but something has to be done or the WI will deteriorate.
Our pub should be open as well. The owner has boarded it up. He should not have been allowed to do so. The parish will die without a pub and a hall to go to.
Grace SLOAN
Fell Dyke, Lamplugh

Searching for Thomas O’Hare
SIR – I am tracing my family history and wonder if any of your readers could help in my search.
My late great-uncle and aunt were Thomas Henry and Anne (née Abbott) O’Hare.  They died in South Shields in 1953 and 1970 respectively.  I believe that their son Thomas Albert lived in Whitehaven in 1970. 
Susan WILSON (nee Pearey)
Email: sirhc@magpies140494.fsnet.co.uk