Sponsored by
Letters, Thursday, March 13, 2008
Readers write to the Times & Citizen and Bedford Today.
Time to give the game of football back to children
SIR – Re: 'Competitive football games to be ended as FA clamp down' (T&C, March 6).
We all need to look at what is being produced week in week out on the football pitch and ask ourselves: are we really looking out for the best interests of the child or inflating egos and personalities to win at all costs?
Children are not mini adults, and it is about time that the leagues take responsibility for the development of children and not to promote this type of behaviour and attitude among adults.
The starting age for competitive football in most European countries is between ten and 12, as opposed to England, where it is seven.
In a world where children can no longer play outside without
supervision, parents and coaches have taken over. And the competitive drive adults bring to the game means youngsters no longer have time to fall in love with football, to play for fun and thus truly to develop their skills.
Today's children learn from the grown-ups. Without the freedom of the streets, their early experiences of football are organised, supervised and coached. They have no real say in what happens, and they don't have time to develop and learn.
The problem areas are:
** It's no longer the children's game – it is controlled by adults
** The same children are often on the bench or omitted every game
** Coaches and parents scream from the touchlines
** Winning is deemed more important than fun and development
** There is not enough free play when children can solve their own
problems
** Children are not encouraged to express themselves
** And children no longer learn about the spirit of the same for themselves.
Name and address supplied
Author acknowledges some passages taken from www.giveusbackourgame.co.uk
****
Retailers not to blame for underage drinking
SIR – Coun Tarsem Paul and James Cox, the outgoing Youth MP for North Bedfordshire, are right in their assessment that underage drinking is spiralling out of control, (T&C, March 6).
It comes at a time when the Labour Government is once again trying to find a solution to a problem by legislating it. This time it blames the retailers for the growing drinking problem. It is like blaming the petrol pump attendants for global warming.
Not so long ago we were blessed with 24-hour drinking to go along with the Continental model.
What this Government has failed to understand is that we do not have the Continental lifestyle, weather or attitude towards drinking.
Many of our youngsters drink regularly and excessively with total disregard for the law, health issues and any parental control.
Lack of police on the streets and lack of deterrent does not discourage these youngsters who, in a few years, will hopefully be responsible adults.
Since the introduction of 24-hour licensing, crime between 3am and 6am has soared by 20 per cent.
It is also worth noting that since the introduction of the Licensing Act 2003 no retailer has been prosecuted by Bedford Borough Council for infringing the licensing law.
The Government should take its responsibility for our broken society and growing anti-social behaviour.
As a parent, retailer, councillor and ex police officer, I urge all caring and responsible members of our community to work together to build a better and safer environment for our future generations.
Coun Jas Parmar
(Con, Kempston South)
****
Lack of tough action compounds problem
SIR – Your article (T&C, March 6) highlights the seriousness of the
nationwide problem of the drunken behaviour of youths of all ages.
Government complacency and unwillingness to take tough action compounds the problem.
The questions that need to be answered are:
1. Where do they get the money from to buy the drink? For example, a crate of spirits smashed on the footpath in Bedford Park recently,
leaving hundreds of pieces of glass around?
2. Which are the shops that sell alcohol to them and why are they not checked out by the police?
3. How many prosecutions of these law breakers have been made?
4. Why do the police rarely patrol the town and parks and arrest the drunks, including adult alcoholics?
5. Why are the parents that presumably provide the money to their feral off-spring not prosecuted?
Prof CL Kirk
Brickhill Drive, Bedford
****
Challenging problems will reduce teenage drinking
SIR – With the issue of binge drinking still high on the news agenda, it would be refreshing to see some discussion of why young people drink and what can be done about it.
Our young people say they started drinking because their friends drank, they wanted to experiment and they were following the example of family and friends. They also say their parents condoned or didn't care about their drinking.
We believe it's time to find solutions to teenage binge drinking by challenging the problem at the earliest opportunity and giving young
people reasons to be responsible. This approach works and will reduce teenage drinking.
Clare Checksfield
Chief executive, Crime Concern
****
Delayed unitary decision has destabilised county
SIR – The unnecessary reorganisation of local government is a costly distraction from the real issues of delivering high quality services on the ground.
Working families and pensioners, already suffering from punishing council tax hikes, could see bills rise to pay for the reorganisation with the only obvious change being that town halls will be more distant and less accountable to local people.
The situation has been made worse by the Government's dithering as we should have had a decision last July.
This process has destabilised local government in Bedfordshire and it is particularly irresponsible to make this announcement whilst the issue is still under judicial review, leaving the people of Bedfordshire in the worst of all possible worlds.
Bob Neill
Shadow minister for local government
****
Jobs must not come at expense of local life
SIR – I was surprised to read a letter in last week's edition by the director of Colmworth Science Park, telling the 'facts' are simple. I got the same views as the vast majority of the residents who are not against bringing jobs from 'elsewhere' to the park but this must not come at the expense of deterioration in the quality of life for the locals, in terms of additional traffic in the High Street that already becomes a major trunk road during peak hours.
Perhaps Dr Sally Forsyth may wish to explore her 'simple facts' a bit
further to find out the current real traffic levels and stop relying on the data that is totally out of date.
Without making provision for an appropriate link road for incoming traffic to the science park, before any further extension, you are ignoring the real issue, no matter how many revised applications are submitted. Hollow evidence cannot bring a constructive public dialogue when personal interests overtake real issues.
Charan Sekhon
Wood End Close, Sharnbrook
****
Early signals of intention to build on greenbelt
SIR – Mid Beds District Council is committed to find land to build 4,400 new houses and to create 9,000 new jobs by 2021. Thirteen sites have been identified in Ampthill, of which five fall in areas currently designated as greenbelt.
The council's own core strategy states that "no development will be allocated in the greenbelt." This begs the question why were proposals for these five sites ever considered in the first place? The council says it simply wishes to know local views about any developments on greenbelt areas, but is it really as simple as that?
It is not too cynical to suggest that the council is sending out early
signals about wishing to build on the greenbelt at some stage in the future. If people fail to protest now, then the council can always claim that no-one raised any objections to encroachment onto the greenbelt at this current time.
If readers wish to help conserve the character and integrity of towns and villages in Mid Beds, then I urge them to write to the district council, to tell them in no uncertain terms that they must abide by their own strategy of not allocating any developments to greenbelt areas.
If we do nothing now, then the further erosion of our greenbelt will become a distinct possibility in the future.
Jerry Fitch
The Coppins, Ampthill
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Bedford
Tuesday 14 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 4 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: North west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 3 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: North west
