Trout on a fork

This stuffed trout, 2ft 6ins in length, 16ins in girth, weighing 7½ lbs, is said to have been caught on September 30, 1893, in a small pond at Thrift House off the Ringinglow Road, Ecclesall, Sheffield, by a man whose only tackle was a hay fork. He stuck the fork in, and out came the fish to be stuffed, exhibited and admired by generations of fishermen. The ‘fisherman’ was Mr Robert Ward, who was assisted in the feat by Mr John Lee, the farmer at Thrift House Farm.

A photograph of the trout has been brought to the offices of The Star by a reader, who said that the pond in which the fish was caught still stands at Thrift House and is filled with water fit for drinking. He was told the trout was the only one in the pond and it reached its big proportions through feeding on smaller fish”.

Yet a another tall fishermen’s tale? Or a truthful one, one wonders. Can any readers shed any definitive light?

Michael Parker

Robertshaw Crescent, Deepcar, Sheffield, S36

Monarch or president?

The cost of a monarch is about 63p per person. The president is less or more, depending on your opinion.

The monarch is not elected by the people, but the president is electable.

The cost is a red herring.

If we abandoned elections, (general, local and maybe referendums), the money saved would be tremendous. We live in a democracy, thank goodness, and the cost of that is immaterial.

Eddie Peart

Broom Crescent, Rotherham, S60

Debt of gratitude

Do the results of the UK local council elections herald the potential demise of UKIP in post-Brexit British politics? Following their latest reported loss of 123 seats with only three gains, the electorate is entitled to ask this question.

If the answer is “yes”, as a committed Brexiteer I shall be very sorry if this should happen. When UKIP was founded their leader Nigel Farage was quoted as saying that their sole objective was to have the UK remove itself from the European Union, and that if and when this happened he would consider his work for the party to be over. History has recorded a convincing majority victory for the leave voters. This decision taken by the people was totally unexpected by Parliament, the Establishment and leading business and banking bodies, when we were offered a referendum on the matter.

It was largely because of the tireless promotional work done by UKIP and their leader, allied with the support of many non-UKIP voters who shared their objective of leaving the EU, that David Cameron and Parliament offered a referendum, as the increasing UKIP support from Tory and Labour voters was making significant inroads into established seats.

Under the UK electoral system, at a previous General Election UKIP received over four million votes yet had only one MP, a Tory defector. Compare this with the EU proportional representation system of voting whereby UKIP gained the majority UK seats in their parliament.

Voters of all political persuasions voted for them to speak for us in the EU parliament with the aim of gaining Brexit.

t is highly ironical that the success of UKIP in helping to obtain Brexit, and Nigel Farage’s vow that his work would then be over, could be the main reason for the Party’s poor showing in the latest elections. Many non- UKIP Brexit voters may have felt that the Party will have achieved its objective in March 2019 and switched their support back to their original parties.

Since taking his seat as an MEP, Nigel Farage as the UKIP leader has been a vociferous, eloquent speaker fighting for our country’s cause. Now that Brexit has been approved by the people, in my opinion he would have made a superb negotiator for our withdrawal team.

Sadly, Mrs May and the establishment thought otherwise. In an age when honours are thrown around like confetti to people who have done a lot for themselves but very little for their country, surely he has earned a “Sir Nigel” for his patriotic achievement for all Brexiteers, and ultimately for the benefit of the country as a whole.

Cyril Olsen

Busk Meadow, Sheffield, S5

Untruths and lies?

Mr T Palmer repeatedly says things in his letters which are not true and yet he accuses others of lying.

It is an untruth to say that the present Labour party are in favour of uncontrolled immigration.

It is not true the Tony Blair’s Labour government allowed uncontrolled immigration.

It is not true the Tony Blair lied about the existence of WMD. (If he had read the long report on the Iraq War he would find no evidence to support his repeated slurs, but that would spoil his enjoyment of insults).

I am not a Labour member, or even a supporter, just someone in favour by and large of the truth.

No, it is Mr Palmer who tells untruths and it is a scandal that the Star repeatedly allows him to repeat them.

Is there not a duty on the Star to be accurate?

David Allen

Sheffield, S5

Thanks for voting for us

Can we thank everyone who voted for Heeley City Farm to win £50,000 in the BIG Lottery and ITV Calendar’s People’s Project.

Our project is called Farm Days Dementia Project and will work with people with dementia, and their families and friends, carers and ex-carers and care homes and in the community to promote positive way of how we live with dementia in the everyday.

We also take our animals into care homes and welcome visits from care homes to Heeley City Farm.

Can we also welcome the success of our friends at Sheffield City of Sanctuary who were also awarded £50,000 for their valuable work?

John Le Corney

Chief executive, Heeley City Farm