YEP Letters: January 30

Check out today's YEP letters

Care of elderly should be top of council agenda

D S Boyes, Leeds 13

WHAT a shocking state of affairs shown in the YEP over care of the elderly.

What the home is called or where it’s located are irrelevant, but the principle that Leeds should look after its own people is, and ought to be put to the top of Leeds City Council’s agenda.

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Years ago, Leeds built and ran its own care homes with loyal, hardworking and most important of all, compassionate staff who put the elderly first, not profits for the private sector.

Sadly, many of these establishments were closed, sold or reused for other purposes, a very short sighted plan in my opinion with a growing elderly population.

One such building near me stood empty and derelict for years and was last used as an asylum hostel, it was where my own daughter did valuable work experience looking after old people 25 years ago.

I always wished I would die before needing such care, now in my 70s, but thanks to the NHS in general and my GP in particular I might live to be 100 and need some care later on.

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I hope that it could be somewhere run by Leeds City Council and those wonderful caring people they used to employ looking after me and others.

Junior doctors are aware of working hours

RR Clarke, Gomersal

I listened to a junior doctor on the TV news telling how he worked a few weekends and he considered his place was at home with his son.

After being demobbed from the navy in 1946, apart from getting married to the girl I had been courting from our early teens, I return to my old job in the electrical trade.

Some time around the late 40s/early 50s, I found myself frequently working away from home, for months at a time, and as we were starting a family, I considered my place was with my wife at home.

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I decided to find myself a new job, which would keep me at home, and applied for the fire service in Leeds city where I was successful.

At the time I was getting two and six per hour in the electrical trade, and working a standard 48 hours per week, earning a take home pay of £6.

When I joined the Leeds City Fire Service I was paid £5 a week, a drop of £1, working for 60 hours a week, working one week of days followed by one week of nights.

Our change over was on a Sunday when we worked a 24 hour shift, starting at nine on Sunday morning through to nine on Monday morning.

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When we would return at six in the evening to carry out another 15 hour shift until nine the following morning, returning again at six in the evenings.

We had chosen to do the job, and include inconvenient hours, such as attending an incident, which may cause staying at the job after the recognised finishing time at the end of the shift.

One is aware that such problems can also apply to doctors who have to study and work hard to qualify.

Nevertheless, such things go with the doctor responsibilities, as well as receiving a worthwhile salary for their task, and aware of it when they take on the job.

English language lesson bombshell

Joyce Aveyard, Leeds 7

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I would like to express my point of view on the ludicrous bombshell dropped in our laps by Mr Cameron that ladies of the Muslim faith will be paid to learn English.

Utterly ridiculous, as was the amount proposed. It just beggars belief, desperate financial help is urgently needed by more worthwhile sources.

No political or religious reasons motivate my letter, I feel Mr Cameron’s reasons are too little, too late.

Lots of Muslim ladies have achieved and prospered in many professions, not always easy, but to their credit.

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Come on ladies, you chose to live in my country so if you decided not to learn our language I think it is an insult. So please ladies, pay for your own language lessons, you can do it if you really try.

When I needed to learn another language I paid for my own course of lessons, felt delight at my achievements, you will too.

I do not like the way Mr Cameron put the situation to you, please learn our national tongue and tell him his offer would be more useful in keeping his promise to provide flood defence, and sticking to it.

Morley people are friendly

Jenny Bryan, Kippax

I was shocked to see the headline ‘Should Morley be more welcoming?’ (YEP letters January 27).

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For several years now we have travelled from Kippax to Morley to do our shopping. Why? Because we find the people of Morley very friendly.

The staff in the shops are always willing to help.

We have sme good friends we met in Morley.

It is not a chore to shop in Morley, it is a pleasure.

l For more of your comments on whether Morley should be more welcoming, see our Views from Social Media column on the opposite page.