YEP Letters: March 10

Suggestions for who new statue should honour

The Yorkshire Evening Post is backing a call from Rachel Reeves, MP for Leeds West, and Leeds City Council leader Judith Blake, to have a new statue erected in Leeds - one of a woman.

Apart from Queen Victoria, Henry Moore’s reclining woman and some nymphs in city square, Leeds has no statue of a woman.

And yet we have so many Leeds women who have left their mark in history.

People who have worked for charities, for social reform, for racial equality - there are athletes, politicians, authors, businesswomen and scientists. So we are asking YEP readers, on their behalf to come up with ideas on who YOU think should be commemorated in our city.

No public money will go into this statue as it’s hoped the money will come from donations and fundraising from around Leeds. Here are some of your suggestions...

John Peckham, Leeds

For many years I’ve thought one daughter of our city long worthy of a statue must be Dame Fanny Waterman – the co-founder of the Leeds International Piano Competition.

Dame Fanny, who is already a Freeman of Leeds, reaches a sprightly 97 on March 22.

In 1961 the competition catapulted Leeds on to the world classical music stage and the event is, of course, still a television fixture. As Leeds is bidding for European City of Culture she would surely be a most appropriate choice.

I’m not a musician but once met a young rising star American piano soloist in Chicago.

When she asked as to my home city, she instantly recalled having met Dame Fanny in a tone so gushed it was as if she’d met the Queen!

Catherine Shuttleworth

Why not invest in women who need it most in Leeds by setting up a fund in the memory of one of these amazing women that can create opportunities for others?

Rather that than a lump of metal.

Amy Green

I’d much rather we used the money to invest in women across the city. Sex education, planned parenthood, parenting classes for those at risk. Let’s use the money for something tangible.

Chris Hough

A statue will eventually join the other exiles on Woodhouse Moor. Leeds has a very poor record with this form of public art.

Mikey Franks

How many statues of men does Leeds have? Ones that are not part of the founding masons? I can think of Billy Bremner.

Robert North

They don’t have my permission to waste my hard-earned cash on something so pointless in times of
austerity.

Michael John Booth

Perhaps Mel B could get a statue. She would be a fine role model.

Matthew Wharton

Baroness Sue Ryder was born in Leeds.

Wayne Castle-Ford

How about a anonymous women holding a child as nature intended, thus celebrating true feminism and womanhood?

Martin Walker

Let’s have a referendum.Maybe someone could list ten influential women from the last 100 years (or longer) and what they did. Then let’s vote and see which one wins.

Sue Gaunt

Jane Tomlinson.

Victoria Wood

Nicola Adams.

Ian Walker

What use is a statue when women’s services for abuse and rape are being cut so much?

Richard Nich Dobson

Jane Tomlinson definitely.

Veronica Viv Anne

Jane Tomlinson.

Rob Roderick-Zabrocky

How about Isabelle Ford or Sue Ryder maybe?

Daniel James Broadbent

Julie Walters or Maggie Smith.

Paul Dishman

Beryl Burton would be a great subject - complete with her bike.

Laura Broadbent

I’d say Nicola Adams or Jane Tomlinson.

Taking from over taxed public

Judy Goodwin, Altofts

Once again the latest budget has shown that all any government knows is how to take from the over taxed general public.

No mention of getting rid of unelected quangos costing billions a year or taking money from the overseas aid budget to provide care for our own elderly, just more tax hikes, for a government who puts its people first.

Lords live on another planet

Mavis Harrison, Leeds

“Meet the Lords” – an insight into the House of Lords.

£300 a day and a statement from one of them that some peers do nothing when they attend. Chandeliers, miles of expensive carpets, wine flowing at lunch. One question from one Lord – why has the TV been removed from a certain room?

I have always thought these people lived on another planet. Now I know where it is!

No bus service to hospital

Mrs V Harden, Leeds

Could any of the bus companies in Leeds explain why there is no service that goes to LGI Clarendon Wing?

Such a big hospital with no access to transport. I have difficulty walking so have to use costly taxis.

Cash for museums

A Hague, Leeds 9

I notice that a Leeds museum is given £125,000 as part of a £4m windfall.

The Royal Armouries is the lucky recipient for its Way Finder project from a charity for culture, media and sport.

The National Football Museum in Manchester receives £100,000 to document the history of women’s football. A museum in Singleton, West Sussex gets £224,500 to fund a bakery and dairy showcasing heritage food production and a London museum receives £200,000 to aid renovation.

Nice going for events not fighting to survive.

Nominate a stroke survivor

Hilary Devey, CBE

I write to urge readers to consider nominating a stroke survivor for the Stroke Association’s Life After Stroke Awards, a charity for which I am a patron.

I am certain that each and every one of your readers could nominate an inspiring stroke survivor, or a person who supports stroke survivors, for much-deserved acknowledgement. I know how stroke can turn a life upside down in an instant.

In 2009, I went to bed with a dreadful headache and woke up with no sensation in my left hand and very little feeling in my face. At the hospital, they confirmed that I’d had a stroke. I was unable to return home for three months and even then, I struggled to write and speak. The hardest thing was being told I could never drive again because of my impaired vision.

But thanks to the fantastic support I received, I’m still here and that’s what counts.

The Stroke Association’s Life After Stroke Awards celebrate the courage and dedication shown by stroke survivors, carers, volunteers and healthcare professionals who overcome the extra challenges that a stroke brings. I’ve been lucky enough to have been present at the charity’s awards event and have met some exceptional people. Their achievements and contributions should be recognised.