Give festival a fair chance

Jan 27 2010 by Matt Hurst, Birkenhead News

I SEE the killjoys are at it again, trying to stop the Thurstaston music festival.

Councillors and groups who claim to speak for “the residents”, but who in reality, only represent a very small minority of views, keep quoting the “damaging effects on our wildlife” as a reason to stop the concert.

Our local wildlife must be well used to noise, with fireworks at Royden Park on many evenings of the year.

Local residents and their pets’ lives are made a misery by these late night displays.

All our wildlife in Royden Park and Thurstaston hill must be terrified, but I don’t see these groups campaigning to stop the firework displays.

The Open golf brought crowds and disruption to Wirral but these groups didn’t complain then.

Could it be that a music festival is not quite as “highbrow” as the golf?

If this event is run well it should provide another great event for Wirral residents.

If we don't try it we will never know if would have been a success or not.

KEVIN BENNETT

Edgemoor Dr, Irby

Snow thanks

NOW that things are getting back to normal after the recent difficult winter weather, I would like to take this opportunity to thank Wirral News for helping to keep everybody up to date with some of the changes we had to make to our services.

Happily we were able to directly contact everybody who was personally affected by these service changes, however your assistance in getting information to the wider public was greatly valued and appreciated.

I was pleased that all adult social services continued without significant interruption throughout the period.

Nobody went without their ‘meals-on-wheels’, all home visits were made, and all residential and day care establishments had their usual staffing levels.

Of course, for obvious reasons, our regular transport was suspended.

However, this was only after our drivers and escort staff had worked until midnight to ensure that on the day the snow first fell, none of the most vulnerable people in Wirral were stranded anywhere and all were returned to the safety of their homes.

The experience highlighted the dedication and hard work of our staff and those within our partner agencies, and the team effort, of which the media – including you – became an important and valuable part.

JOHN WEBB

Director of Adult Social Services, Wirral Council

Magic milkmen

I MUST mention the milkmen who kept going without a hitch right through the big freeze when other people and organisations had to give up for various periods of time.

Also the milkmen deliver local milk and, at a time when dairy farming is losing so many farmers, it is important that we support the farmers that do remain and give them a fair return for their hard work.

Four pints for approximately £1.53 as sold in the supermarkets is ridiculous and it will only be when we have lost all our dairy farmers and have to import all our milk that we will realise our big mistake.

However, going back to the milkmen, they carried out their work in the early morning at the coldest time, the darkest time and the time when there was not a soul about – not a job many of us would relish.

ELIZABETH CARBERY

Downham Road South, Heswall

Blunderland

I DREAMT I was in Wonderland and I was discussing a matter with my wife ‘Alice’ about the success of tourism in the area (Wirral News January 13, 2010).

Having lived in Wirral for over 73 years, and circumnavigated the globe 3 times in the last 10 years, I feel I am reasonably qualified to comment about tourism, cultures, numbers, costs and rip offs.

My conclusions now are that the biggest growth industries are- brainwashing, and the general disruption of the earth and its creatures.

Where are the tourists who have spent £235 million over two years in Wirral?

A return on that figure for 300,000 ratepayers would yield £783,333 to every household. Would the dotty council accountants explain it in full detail? Such as, who's got it? And where is it?

NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED