YEP Letters: April 24

Scooter cars: tanks for the memory

Ernest Lundy, by email

R Dixon’s letter last week on the scooter cars made at Hunslet Engine Company reminded me of the day when, while delivering heating oil by pressure in the entrance yard, those checking the ullage must have over calculated the amount the tank would take.

When the last surge of oil entered the almost full tank overhead, a surge of the still warm (near crude black oil) over flowed and completely covered a scooter car parked below the tank vent. With the day being cold, the unfortunate owner of the parked scooter car, on being told of the mishap, found his vehicle with difficulty under the rapidly cooling tar-like liquid.

I could well imagine the job he had to clean it! There were no repercussions for me as the gallons delivered were as ordered. But I was later told the unfortunate driver of the bubble car never parked there again.

The new bus timetables are a ‘disaster’

Martin J Phillips, Leeds 16

There have been several articles in your pages recently regarding moves to encourage more people to leave their cars at home and travel by bus.

Unfortunately Metro are apparently trying to deter potential passengers by introducing new timetables in their bus shelters that do not actually advise customers what time they can expect a bus.

The previous timetables were excellent in that the expected time of every bus was listed. Now there are large gaps and instead of the expected times of buses there are wordings such as “....and then every 25 minutes until.....” Others say “..... and then a frequent service....”. How are passengers supposed to know when a bus is likely to arrive without having to use a calculator? People will arrive at a bus stop, see this wording, go back home and climb into their cars.

Another problem with the new timetables is the size of the lettering: it is far too small especially if you are trying to read it at night in low light. Potential passengers therefore also need to take a torch and a magnifying glass with them.

One can only assume that the Metro employees who design the timetable actually travel to work by car or it would be blatantly obvious that the new timetables are a complete disaster.

Break the cycle of visible hate

Becky Hewitt, Chief Executive, Changing Faces

Every day people in Yorkshire with a disfigurement are subject to harassment and abuse because of how they look.

That’s why Changing Faces are launching the first ever hate crime campaign aimed at informing people with disfigurements about their rights if they are the victims of abuse.

Many people don’t even realise they can report abuse as a hate crime and far too often simply suffer in silence.

There are on average 67,000 disability hate crimes a year, and yet only half of those are reported to the police. We want that to change.

Looking different in a society where there is such pressure to look a certain way is tough. We want to see hate crimes that target appearance recognised and reported.

No one deserves to suffer abuse because of the way they look, and it’s time to break the cycle of hate in our society.

This campaign which is funded by the Home Office will encourage people, along with their friends, families and any onlookers, to be able to recognise hate crimes and have the confidence and the means to report them.

We also want to see better training for the police so that they can deal with hate crimes sensitively and effectively.

Help us to break the cycle of #VisibleHate.

Speak up, speak out, together let’s stop it.

Sticking to our guns on Brexit

We’re sticking to our guns – that’s the message on Brexit from Yorkshire Evening Post readers. A total of 1800 visitors to the YEP website have in recent weeks been asked for their views on the UK’s forthcoming departure from the European Union. An analysis of the replies shows an overwhelming majority believe they backed the right side in 2016’s referendum with nearly 90 per cent of those questioned saying they would vote the same way if it was held again. However only 18.5 per cent said they were happy with the state of the negotiations on Brexit. Nearly 50 per cent believe the UK will suffer economically outside the EU with 39.4 per cent saying the country will be better off after leaving while 11.4 per cent thought that little would change. Asked if the UK should still be part of the EU’s single market post-Brexit 56.1 per cent said yes and 32.3 per cent said no while 11.7 per cent were unsure. We asked YEP readers for their comments on the results and here’s what some of them said on social media..

Carole Gill

Well what’s wrong with having our own independence, our rights, our control over our own country, just has all other Countries do and after all the vote was what the people want, we have relied on Europe too much, and it’s done more harm than good.

Maria Timblin

It’s about time we left and learned to stand on our own two feet like we once did! We are a strong country, a Commonwealth, we can manage quite well I’m sure.

Gill Hartley

Sick to death of all this scaremongering over Brexit.

The majority voted out. Whether you agree or disagree does not matter. It’s called democracy.

Dave Beilby

Anyone pro Brexit got any measurable data that’ll prove it is for best then share it. Stick to the facts 52 per cent of the people ‘who voted’ carried brexit.

So 48 per cent ‘who voted’ we’re against but what about those who didn’t vote? Cant remember actual numbers but those who chose to ignore the process may have been the majority.

Martin Kelly

Maybe we should have another poll just in case people have changed their minds, or were lied to, or were not given all the information?

Karen Lamb

It think it’s great that so many people in Yorkshire like being ‘European’.

I would love the other half of Yorkshire to decide they want to remain in the EU too.

Geoffrey Noble

I don’t think that there is any doubt that we shall suffer outside the EU but I also think that they had too much say on our rules.