We must act now to ensure our flats are safe

ACTION for Pakistan, International, Rochdale, Lancashire, United Kingdom, would like to extend our condolences to the families, friends and relatives of those people who have died in the blaze.

Our prayers and thoughts are for them.

Our prayers are for the rapid recovery of those people who have been treated in hospital and 18 who are in a critical condition in hospitals.

We would like to ask the Rochdale Council, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing , all local authorities and housing association in the country to conduct an immediate review of the health and safety, building regulations etc. to ensure that nothing of this type of fire occurs in the Seven Sisters (block of flats) we have in the Borough of Rochdale. Ghulam Rasul Shahzad Chairman Action for Pakistan International.

POTENTIAL DEATH TRAPS

IF Rochdale councillors are still unsure about the future of College Bank flats they need only look to the tragedy in London on Wednesday morning.

In fact, that fire should bring about the demise of all tower blocks built in this country in the Sixties and Seventies.

Clearly, each and every one of them is a potential death trap. Ian Ogden Whitworth

ARE AWARDS NECESSARY?

FOR a lot of years Rochdale Council has claimed that diversity is alive and well and living in Rochdale.

So why do we have diversity awards every year?

Seems a bit strange to me. Tony Doyle Wardle Road

BOOK CLAIM IS ‘FAKE NEWS’

I ASSUME that Todd Fitzgerald did not actually read Simon Danczuk’s book before writing his recent article (Observer 14 June).

Had he done so he would have known that it ‘rediscovered’ the 1979 story from Rochdale Alternative Paper (RAP) about Cyril Smith spanking young men at Cambridge House hostel, contained a story about Smith and ●●This image titled Bee on the canal near Durn was submitted by Terry Angus. Email your pictures to us at rochdaleobserver@menmedia.co.uk or upload them to flickr.com/groups/rochdalepics child pornography which when investigated by Northhamptonshire Police was found to be false and sought to implicate Smith in sexual abuse at Knowl View special school using the testimony of a witness who saw absolutely nothing.

If a part of this article does not constitute ‘fake news’ then what does? Les May Crescent Road MANY apologies for the missing column the last three weeks or so – some sort of a mix-up with the newspaper and myself.

Not to worry, though, as all was resolved after my Italian friends went round and made the Editor an offer he couldn’t understand.

Anyway, back to the grindstone and I am afraid that I am not in a very comical mood this week and it’s easy to understand why.

The events of three weeks ago at the Arena have dominated mine and everyone’s thoughts and quite right too.

Manchester is one of my favourite places on earth and while I don’t live there, it is close enough to hurt.

The sense of unity, resilience and downright defiance from the people of Manchester and the surrounding areas is admirable and yet reassuringly typical.

All my daughters have been to the Arena at some point in their lives and it sends a shudder down my spine just thinking what could have happened if they were there.

Mercy be to whatever is up there looking down on us.

I visited the makeshift shrine to those killed and injured in the bomb in St Annes’ Square in Manchester and it is hard not to be moved by such sights.

The presence of a Scottish bagpipe band added to the sense of occasion and while I would normally rather remove my kneecaps with an angle grinder than listen to a single wheezing bagpipe, it was nice that they were there.

I also watched the tribute concert on Sunday night from Old Trafford, although I spent most of the night pointing at the TV set and saying “Who is that?”.

Admittedly, it was a concert aimed at the teenage fans of Ariana Grande, who I had never heard of before last week, so the chances of me knowing anyone on the bill was pretty remote.

Still, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves and all got home safe, which was the main thing.

So we carry on with our little lives with as much normality as we can muster.

It’s not much, but as a symbol of defiance, it sends out a powerful message. You can’t stop us. It’s funny, I never thought of myself as a Manc.

I do now.