Bluebells are a delight

I know little about our feathered friends or trees, so his observations have added to the potential enjoyment of the area, while my lament was perhaps on the dark side (rare for me ).

The weirs are in need of repair while it’s not really an easy cycle track although the council has spotted its potential.

Beeley Woods bluebells are a delight and the mysterious man-made water features are crying out for being given the same prominence as Rivelin once had.

Tigger’s pal, Slim, is fascinated by such traces of our industrial archaeology.

Only when areas like this get more walkers and cyclists and are appreciated by others apart from off-road bikers and fly-tippers will Sheffield The Outdoor City become a reality. Thanks Chris and Your Good Lady.

Ron Clayton

About more than Brexit

So “Mother Theresa” wants us to believe this election is all about Brexit and if you believe that you’ll also believe that the NHS will be getting £350 million a week paid into its funding. This election is so much more than Brexit, which, if she gets her way, will be under Tory terms with no opposition input into the final deal, just what she and her cohorts want.

According to statistics just over a third of those eligible to vote took us out of the EU, hardly what you would call an overwhelming endorsement but now this government sees an opportunity to manipulate it to their own design and profit from the confusion.

By stating she wants a large majority to give her a strong hand in negotiations, she has muddied the waters a great deal and the voting public will be caught between a whole load of rocks, in short, “a landslide”.

She asked us to judge her party on what it had already achieved so let’s run through a few of those achievements,

First and foremost a divided “Great Britain”, a low- pay, low -xpectation society eg zero-hours contracts etc, tuition fees, reduced funds for councils, policing, armed forces, education, underfunding the NHS, withdrawals of bursaries for nurses.

Things they have created are food banks, bedroom taxes, longer waiting times in the NHS, shortages of nurses, doctors, social carers,police, armed forces, teachers, coupled with low morale in all these public services and let’s not forget they have increased the national debt by a considerable amount.

But their saving grace, I shall reluctantly admit, is they managed to reward all those impoverished bankers for their sterling efforts in making this nation what it is today.

She’s now accusing Europe of trying to interfere in the general election, hardly a good way to prepare for Brexit.

Your candidates for the forthcoming election should be able to answer these questions.

Alan lockwood

by email

It’s just not good enough

Why is Amey being allowed to carry on the work with the Streets Ahead when they cannot provide the manpower, equipment or the knowledge which such a big contract needs? They are being allowed to hold the people of Sheffield to ransom.

They don’t start work when they say they are going to.

For two days I have been up at 5.30am to move my car off the road following their instruction that they were working 7-7.

On the first day they didn’t start until 9.15am, and on the second day nobody turned up until 11.15am.

On asking the three who did turn up what was happening, they replied the other team had not turned up.

This is happening all over the city, roads are being left for weeks unfinished in a dangerous condition, street furniture abandoned on streets for months, lights not working along roads, and nobody a taking responsibility for it, just crossing their fingers and hoping that if they ignore people it will go away.

Not good enough Sheffield city council.

Remember we can elect another party.

K Ballantyne

by email

It’s a kind of magic

I have read that between 2009 and 2012, £375 billion was produced from thin air. It was called quantitative easing.

That’s magic. I have been unable to find out where that money is now. Did it do the nation any good? Did it improve the economy? We don’t know and possibly never will.

I also read that the NHS was £121 billion in debt and must pay off the lender each year.

It seems to me that a portion of that Magic Money might have built a few hospitals. That would certainly have done some good.

Why haven’t our governments been wise enough to invest in our future by this method?

After all it is the taxpayer who must eventually foot the bill. The government is supposed to serve the people. Is the government running the country or is it the magician? Perhaps future contributors to this page will tell me who is the magician and who does he work for?

Mr G Bower

Loxley Road, S6

Noble concept transformed

As a comparatively recent contributor to the Star Your Say Letters feature, I enjoy reading the exchange of letters on all topics, and the ‘cut and thrust’ of friendly written debate.

With friendly debate in mind, I am writing in reply to NP Johnson’s ‘Economic consequences’ letter, Star, April 29.

I am not extolling the virtues of unelected Tory Prime Minister Theresa May, but praising her for abiding by a majority Brexit decision – when she voted to remain. NP Johnson should be aware that ALL Prime Ministers are unelected at a General Election. The MPs of the winning Party choose their Prime Minister.

Leaving the EU is of paramount importance to the older generation because we were initially conned in 1973 by Edward Heath and the then Tory government into believing that we were joining the Common Market solely as a trading partner.

In 1975 the electorate was then conned by Harold Wilson and the Labour government that this was still the case.

History and hindsight have shown that an original noble concept has been transformed into our country now largely losing its national sovereignty and being dictated to by 27 fellow member states – a prime example being our EU compliance with uncontrolled borders and immigration with the resulting economic, housing, jobs, education, health and welfare overload. The younger generation will inherit this if Brexit does not go ahead.

Far from being a ‘dyed-in-the-wool lifelong Labour supporter’, if I consider that a Prime Minister in power, complying with the majority democratic referendum vote is doing a reasonable job, they will have my support in implementing that decision.

Cyril Olsen

Busk Meadow, Sheffield,S5