Let spirit of goodwill find us friends, not enemies
THE Gatwick drone saga may turn out to be caused by alien powers probing our defences, one or more kids with a toy who became hooked on the excitement of becoming national news, a social misfit, disaffected former Gatwick employee or eco-warriors.
But the fact that it enabled the government to duck and dive for another day or two at the cost of others looking unprepared is to be admired. Now we have less than 100 days to go to Brexit we may expect lots of other distractions.
They may overlap and sometimes things will just turn up to help them, like the Corbyn ‘silly woman’ accusations and outrage.
And of course, with modern media, whoever did it for whatever reason may inspire others with other agendas. Gatwick may be secured with thousands of police, squadies and security staff costing millions extra a day, but there are lots of other potential targets.
Stanley Baldwin feared ‘the bomber will always get through’ and even if they won’t without heavy casualties, the cost of being ready for every eventuality will be crippling.
Whether it’s Brexit, climate change or disaffection, the only way round is to pick up the spirit of goodwill and make friends rather than fight enemies. Joy Christianson, Fallowfield
Young need our support
REGARDING The Prince’s Trust opening a new centre at Beehive Mill. The development of the new centre comes at a time when many young people in the area are feeling apprehensive about their future prospects. New research highlights how too many young people feel disenfranchised from society at precisely the point in their lives when they should feel at their most ambitious and invested.
It should ring alarm bells for us all that so many young people don’t feel people in their community care about them, as indicated by the new Prince’s Trust and HSBC report.
Unless we can all work together to change these views, the potential of this generation will never be fully realised – to the detriment of our society.
We want young people to start their working lives feeling positive and ready to embrace the opportunities available to them, instead of feeling worried and uncertain about their prospects for the future.
The Prince’s Trust has long provided practical support for young people to develop skills and confidence. But it is only through working in partnership that we can really seek to transform the life chances of the next generation.
Our new UK2030 taskforce has been established to do exactly this, to pave the way to success for our country’s youth, and to ensure that the children who are at the start of their school careers today have a strong and meaningful stake in society by the time they reach early adulthood in 2030.
We need a renewed focus on creating a positive future for our young people; when they succeed, our country succeeds. Nick Stace, UK Chief Executive, The Prince’s Trust James Timpson, Chief Executive, Timpson Sally Holland, Children’s Commissioner for Wales Professor Sonia Blandford, Founder and CEO, Achievement for All Geoff McDonald, Co-Founder, Minds@Work
People’s vote or MPs’ ruse?
LOTS of talk about a second ‘Brexit’ referendum. I do not understand why we had a first one. Was it because when politicians are faced with a controversial/difficult decision, these elected people will not put their cosy, well-paid jobs on the line but leave it to the ‘great unpaid’ to make the decision for them. Then spend hours in the media week after week telling the same ‘great unpaid’ how they don’t understand the full state of affairs. They then enthral us with their brilliance, their insight on both sides of the argument.
I expect our politicians to show some backbone. Argue their point for or against, giving their reasons as to why staying in or leaving the EU is best. Stand on their merit and face an election if needed. That is what we pay them for and should expect them to earn the money and expenses they’re paid.
Are referendums a people’s vote? Or is it more correct to call them the MPs’ get-out. Maureen Banner-Rock
Noel helps us stammerers
IT did not surprise me to read your article ‘Noel Gallagher will perform live at Vincent Kompany’s testimonial dinner to raise money for the homeless’ (M.E.N. website). The Oasis guitarist/songwriter has a history of lending himself to help others.
I think your readers would be interested to know that Noel has taken on an unexpected role, inspiring young people who stammer by publicly addressing his history of stammering.
Noel Gallagher’s speech was plagued by stammering, as was his brother Paul, and the two had to have extensive speech therapy. The website of the non-profit Stuttering Foundation has a section called Celebrity Corner with biographical articles on famous stammerers and how they have coped with their speech. The article on Noel Gallagher, entitled ‘Singer Rocks On,’ states that the Oasis guitarist had to go to weekly speech therapy for more than four years to overcome his stammer. The website of this US-based non-profit charity is known worldwide for providing countless free resources for adult and child stammerers.
As a stammerer, I am fully aware that Noel Gallagher being so open about his stammering makes him a role model to young stammerers. Time after time the rock star has gone out of his way to publicly speak about his stammering in a way that lets other stammerers know that they are not alone. In terms of this philanthropy, lending himself is far more powerful than donating money ever could be. God bless Noel Gallagher! Mary Burke, Boston, Massachusetts, USA