Derelict and dirty

It seems the halcyon days of the BT phone boxes have had their day judging from this photo of a double box on West Street in Sheffield.
Phone boxesPhone boxes
Phone boxes

They have probably been lucrative for BT and kept in good and clean working order, but now they are left in a derelict and dirty condition, one could say they have been abandoned.

EB Warris

by email

The pram controversy

I have just read Mr C’s excellent and comprehensive riposte to Ms Fletcher’s recent letter about prams, buses and the “ignorant” older generation, (Star, November 24).

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

As this is obviously a highly contentious topic I thought I might add a little accelerant to the blaze as it were by recounting some of my own experiences with self-righteous pram pushers.

First up there was the time I was browsing a shop window on Pinstone Street when, for reasons unknown, a pram lady chose to ram the footrest of her child’s pushchair into my ankle with force causing laceration and bruising. My reflex response, (with oaths), was to raise my foot sharply out of the way thus temporarily levitating the pushchair complete with bemused child.

My discomfiture was complemented by concerned passers by, (who had probably not witnessed the initial assault on my ankle), taking the opportunity to give me the filthiest of looks.

Needless to say no apology or first aid was forthcoming.

Then there was the time I kindly offered to help a young lady who was clearly struggling to descend a flight of stone steps with her pram. To my surprise my offer was sternly rebuffed with a carefully assembled volley of unpleasantries.

I shan’t be offering that service again.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

And of course we have all encountered the double and triple width prams in supermarkets, sometimes accompanied by an aisle width parent. In order to avoid a “Robin Hood and Little John at the bridge” scenario one’s only recourse is to press oneself against the shelving as the pram barrels through.

But best of all was the unaccompanied pram, complete with child, at the supermarket checkout. As the queue moved off I could see no sign of the mother so I took my place in front of the pram.

When the mother finally returned I was shocked to receive an “in your face” dressing down for “queue jumping”. When I pointed out there was no-one there she stabbed her finger towards the baby and demanded “What about him?” When I asked if she was in the habit of leaving her child alone in the shop her fury only increased. She then began loudly addressing uncouth descriptions of me directly to her child, in the way that some people like to do for effect. An all round unpleasant shopping experience.

So far as the prams vs wheelchairs clash on buses is concerned the council should be able to sort it out once it regains regulatory control of the buses.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

If not the council shouldn’t complain if people continue to avoid public transport.

One, (admittedly controversial), option would be to reinstate the luggage rack and ban prams that do not fold away.

The Government should also make it clear once and for all who has legal priority.

Another Mr C

(Gary Crosby)

Gary and the pigeons

Gary, I do hope you will stick to your last pigeon post. You are entitled to your opinion, so is Susan. We have a garden the pigeons love, they help me get through my day.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Also, the dog, my family and I have serious health problems. My husband had two bleeds on his brain and now has dementia. He can’t communicate with us like he used to. This has gone on for 14 months, us visiting him every day. As you can well imagine pigeons are the least of my worries.

Brenda Wilkinson

S10

Self-satisfied Tory party

Jeremy Corbyn did a brilliant speech after the budget in the House of Commons. He stood up for all those “ordinary” people who have been ignored and take for granted by the Tories.

While he was making his speech, May and Hammond were laughing and the rest of the Tories were jeering him. What a vicious, uncaring and self-satisfied party the Tories are. I hope people remember how the Tories feel about the working class next time we have an election.

Mike Bromley

Shortbrook Drive, Westfield, Sheffield, S20

Doncaster attractions

Doncaster could show it’s bigger neighbour Sheffield how to run town/city development. It’s got the airport, wildlife park, Amazon, East Coast main line HS2 training depot, if it keeps on like this it will soon be the capital of South Yorkshire, perhaps with city status in the future.

David Taylor

by email

The Royal wedding

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

I bet there were a few gulps round Buck House when Harry said he was marrying Meghan, an American mixed race divorcee joining the house of Windsor. It’s about time the Monarchy moved with the times and refelected modern society.

Harry’s marrying Meghan because he’s in love, not like his mum, the People’s Princess, an arranged marriage of the worst kind.

He seems a nice bloke, she seems a nice woman but I really hope we can have a break from it now, wall to wall Tv news coverage, endless pages of these two in the papers, even a humbug republican like me wishes them a long and happy marriage but it’s ages away in May. We don’t need it rammed down our throats 24/7 give us a break.

Jayne Grayson

by email

No jobs created

The Tories claim a thousand jobs a day are created?

Here in sunny Dronfield none are created or have been, nor in Sheffield or Chesterfield. In Dronfield things are slowly closing down, but more flats, homes built on every spare bit of land for mostly Sheffield folk to move out as Sheffield is getting more crowded to mass immigration.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

The myth of a thousand jobs a day created is by the Brexiteers for you to believe it won’t affect our economy.

We at Dronfield still have no job centre or walk in Citizens Advice centre, they closed under Conservative Blair.

W Jones

Hawthorne Avenue, Dronfield, S18

Christmas market

Today we went to the Christmas Market at Chatsworth, £5 to park in a quagmire.

Cars to the left of me, cars to the right of me and we were stuck in the middle.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Just why charge money to park in a what is literally just a field of mud?

Vin Malone

by email

Prince Harry

Prince William the Duke of Cambridge. Prince Harry the Duke of Rotherham? What are the chances?

Eddie Peart