I refer especially to the pedestrian crossing on Boothferry Road, between Tescos and Sainsburys. I use it every day and more often than not you see someone putting theirs and other peoples lives at risk by ignoring the Highway Code, for example pedestrians ignoring the lights and playing "chicken" with the traffic and cyclists and motorists speeding through on amber or red.

Recently, I was walking home at rush hour from the chip shop. The lights were on red and I was halfway across when a car came roaring out of Tesco's car park, went straight through the red light, and missed me by a foot. After some of the letters I have written to the Readers' Page this year it may have been a vengeful council worker, teacher, female shopper, etc. but I've witnessed too many similar incidents to believe it was personal.

Please be careful, everyone, when you cross the road in Goole. Just because you follow the rules it doesn't mean everyone else will.

Paul Thompson

Milton Street, Goole

You not only frightened the residents, you also damaged personal property - and did you get some joy out of throwing dustbins over the balcony?

What feeble minds you must have. Are you not aware we are all pensioners who live there and it is our home. You had no right to be there.

How would you feel if someone did the same to your parents or grandparents? You probably wouldn't care.

I say to you both, grow up and show some respect.

But thinking of what you did, you obviously don't know what the word respect means.

Resident

Gibraltar Court,

Goole

He highlights a report from the Audit Commission along with present discussions to "encourage greater restraint and transparency on pay, and to widen the pool of talent from which Chief Executives are appointed".

This appears to me to be completely the opposite direction taken by our well-respected Chief Executive Nigel Pearson.

With the time of year being as it is, it would be uncivil not to wish Mr Pearson and his family a very lavish and extravagant Christmas that they can afford. But I hope he will not mind in the New Year, when the Audit Commission is asked to look in great detail at the exact reasons for the pay rises and, indeed, how such huge savings could be so rapidly achieved to pay for them.

Surely council-tax payers can look forward to 2009 without Council Tax rises?

Andrew Barnes

Hook Road,

Goole

It seems they are just everywhere. They are on my own doorstep, outside my drive, all along the streets. Surely isn't there someway of using them again? Couldn't they just take them back to the depot in their post bag - they don't take that much room up? After all, they could be classed as littering the streets, which people can be fined for.

I would have thought Royal Mail are in enough trouble at the moment, or do they just not care? If so, let someone have their jobs. There are plenty of men and women off work.

Goole resident

(Name and address supplied)

This time it is to compliment the workers who look after the cemetery. I was there the other day and thought how clean and tidy it looked.

It cannot be an easy job with all the inclement weather we get.

Anyway, this is a thank you from my wife and I.

I still think the councillors waste my money and a lot of other taxpayers' money too.

 

M. Burrows

Airmyn Road,

Goole

The Sunday farmers' market has been a success in Goole, and I would like to see one evening in the precinct a Christmas night, with stalls that sell Christmas items which we can buy, and maybe carols sung by the Salvation Army.

Maybe Goole Town Council could invite continental market traders so we can see how other countries celebrate Christmas and even try their foods.

My family loves Christmas and loves the Christmas lights in Goole but would love to see them continue into the precinct, as there is nothing.

I think a Christmas market could bring in lots of people and could generate a lot of trade for shops and could raise money for charity at the same time.

Other smaller towns have successfully run Christmas markets for years and I think Goole could do the same.

SAMANTHA BARKER

Elsie Street,

Goole

Outside it registered a nippy 4 degrees Centigrade. However, inside it registered a tropical 26 degrees Centigrade.

I worked in that building for seven years and it was always too hot. Yet whilst many of my male colleagues slowly melted, a lot of the female staff seemed to be in a permanent state of hypothermia and you didn't need a degree in rocket science to work out why. The office dress code for men consists of underwear, shirt, tie, trousers, socks and a jacket.

In contrast, I've seen tennis players take to the Centre Court at Wimbledon wearing more clothes than many female employees. Judging by the short-sleeved summer blouses on show last week this practice still continues.

This winter hundreds of people in Goole won't be able to afford to keep their homes warm, and yet their Council Tax payments will be used to super-heat public buildings whose occupants haven't got the sense to put on more clothes when they are cold.

People who work outdoors cope with winter temperatures, why can't the council workers?

Paul Thompson

Milton Street,

Goole

Traditions have been frowned upon or made illegal, as in the case of fox-hunting - whether you are for or against, it is part of Britain's heritage.

Of late the Great British pub has come under fire with the introduction of the smoking ban and high taxes on alcohol. The only pubs left will be trendy bars and discount bars where all the binge drinking takes place. All the regulars who went in a pub to chill with a fag and a pint now do so at home, which is no good for community etc.

We all now shop in supermarkets because it is cheaper by far than local shops. The policing of crime has changed from a time when criminals were prosecuted for committing crime to a situation where it has to be cost-effective to pursue wrongdoers, so most petty crime is now unreported as it is a waste of the victim's time, which in turn is good for the quotas.

Now it looks like they want to get rid of our currency. If things carry on changing at this rate we will go into meltdown as a nation and it will help extremist political views. I am guilty of voting for the Labour party, who have overlooked all these changes and many more besides, a Labour party which was supposed to look after average joe.

It makes me wonder if a vote for the Tories all those years ago would have left the country in a more recognisable state.

K. C.

Goole

(Name and address supplied)

Can you cope with the credit crunch,

Will you be having turkey with trimmings,

Or make do with a dinnertime brunch?

Are you looking forward to Christmas,

Now that recession is near,

Can you afford to go out and celebrate,

Or will you have to make do with a beer?

Are you looking forward to Christmas,

Will you be hale and hearty,

Or will the financial crisis,

Put paid to the Christmas party?

Are you looking forward to Christmas,

In Santa Claus do you believe,

Will the spirit of Xmas be lifted,

With each Christmas card you receive?

Are you looking forward to Christmas,

With trimmings put up in your house,

Can you really afford decorations,

Or are you as poor as a mouse?

Are you looking forward to Christmas,

Under the mistletoe you're going to be kissed,

Have you bought all the presents you should have,

Or is someone going to be missed?

Are you looking forward to Christmas,

Carol singers will come to rejoice,

"In the BLEAK mid winter"

Would seem an appropriate choice?

Are you looking forward to Christmas,

The cost of the fare is quite steep,

If you've only your pension to live on,

It's a wonder you manage to sleep?

Are you looking forward to Christmas,

Or is the outlook so dim,

There's an answer to all of your problems,

Just put all your faith in HIM.

You MUST look forward to Christmas,

Let the doom and the gloom disappear,

What the Hell, go out and enjoy it,

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Gil Wood

Having voiced and written the residents' reasons why the estates should not go ahead and backing the claims with letters from the drainage board etc. to explain the present flooding and access problems at the previous application by the same people, why should I have to travel to Beverley to put the same practical points forward which were presented the last time?

Land and properties round the proposed sites are still flooding, drains are backing up and the means of access is still the same. Nothing has changed, so why should the applications be considered again? We as the residents of Goole in the area and seeing the drains not coping and houses flooding, are not being listened to.

If these planning permissions go through then with the means of access available a fatal accident will happen.

We are saturated with housing in Goole. If any development should happen, it should be directed at the Richard Cooper Street area which is an eyesore.

Let's keep some greenbelts to conserve wildlife and for our children and grandchildren to enjoy. Big estates we don't need.

Allan Lister

Sycamore Close, Goole

The letter was sent on October 13, together with a cheque for £24.98. I received a letter from the Daily Mirror dated October 30, stating that "due to an extremely high demand we expect to despatch your order the week commencing December 15, 2008".

I now have a further letter from the Daily Mirror - an exact replica - except that "due to an extremely high demand we expect to despatch your order the week commencing February 16, 2008."

What are the odds of "ceasing production eventually"?

F. Walton

High Street, Hook

The reason for writing is to express my disappointment at the lack of support for the event from the retailers of Goole. Having wandered down the pedestrian precinct at 5.45pm I noticed the buzz of the crowd beginning to build. However, I managed to count on both hands the number of retailers who had remained open for business.

When you consider two were cafes and two were charity shops, it didn't leave many other retailers. At a time when we are all struggling for trade and every opportunity should be grabbed with both hands, I find this apathy alarming.

I would like to appeal to all retailers, large and small, to support the council next year and let's try to create a festive shopping experience for the public of Goole. Let's try to make the Xmas switch on a full evening of entertainment and shopping.

The Goole Retail Chamber is looking at this situation, but without the support of all the retailers we will find it very difficult to make this the success it deserves to be. Well done to the council, Frank Ella and all those involved in the Christmas lights switch on. I for one thoroughly enjoyed the evening.

Garrey Haase

(Vice-chairman, Goole Retail Chamber)

Boothferry Road, Goole

When we arrived at the nature reserve we were made to feel very welcome by the lovely gentlemen at the entrance, who had given up there free time to ensure that we all stayed safe and well and directed us up to where the grotto was. On the way up there I really enjoyed looking at the old army vehicles and train, where I had lots of photos taken beside them.

When we arrived at the grotto we were met by two of Santa's little helpers, who told us to listen out for Santa's bell. When I heard it I was so excited and Santa told me to enter his grotto with Mummy and Daddy. It was magical place that was full of surprises and toys awaiting delivery on Christmas Day. I sat on a stool next to Santa and he proceeded to draw a caricature of me and asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I had a good chat with Santa and told him that I had been a good boy and gave him my Christmas wish list.

In return Santa gave me a lovely red stocking full of surprises and told me if I was very good I would get all my presents that I had asked for. Then he directed us to another cabin where refreshments were being served - tea, coffee, juice, mince pies and cakes for everyone.

My Mummy and Daddy would like to thank all the staff and Santa at Drax for a great afternoon and putting something back into the community free of charge.

From an excited little boy - Leon Tabiner Taylor (and a little help from Mummy and Daddy)

Buttermere Road,

Goole

I would be interested to know exactly quite what he does to justify a salary seven times that of a dustbinman, 2.5 times MP Ian Cawsey's salary and seven times a senior nurse.

Godfrey Bloom

Main Street, Wressle

While the revellers in the town might be delighted, the extra night's opening could cause further suffering to the people living nearby, who have to endure the loud music and yobbish behaviour whenever the club is open.

The nightclub is in a totally unsuitable, being effectively in the middle of a roundabout at a busy road junction, and any extension to the club's opening hours is certainly not welcomed by the non-revellers in the town.

HORRIFIED

(Name and address supplied)