Imposing minimum prices will hit poorest
I noticed, in a national newspaper, a letter signed by several directors of public health in the North West, calling for a minimum price for alcohol to be imposed by the Government.
They say it should be 50p per unit and argue that moderate drinkers would not be unduly inconvenienced. In any case, it would be worth it to save the 3,000-plus lives lost to alcohol abuse each year.
I know they mean well but any move to minimum pricing will affect low income adults whose only real "extravagance" is a few cans at home from the cheapest available source.
People should be left to choose what they eat and drink. It may be unwise but in most cases it is done for enjoyment, not to feed an addiction.
Making booze dearer will not save the NHS money either. It would just be swallowed up in a big black hole of administration.
Name and address supplied
Join parade to remember troops
I am hoping to generate some interest for the Remembrance Service in Milnthorpe on November 8.
For the past few years I have laid a poppy wreath and cross at Miln-
thorpe War Memorial and recently noticed the name of a man from the region – Roy Woodhead, who died in Egypt in 1952. At that time I was also serving in the Suez Canal Zone.
I made some inquiries and discovered Roy had left a wife and seven-month-old son. The son, Tim, got in touch. He now lives in Cornwall and was raised with a different surname following his mother's remarriage. He was unaware of his father's name being on the Milnthorpe cenotaph.
In September this year I returned from a visit to Egypt fulfilling an ambition to pay my respects to comrades left behind during the Suez Crisis of 1951-1954. I had been able to join 32 other people to visit the war graves in Fayid, Moascar and Tel-el-Kebir. The vast number of troops who died between 1951 and 53 was astounding. None of us who were there at the time had been aware of the number of casualties.
On Sunday November 8 at around 2pm the Milnthorpe Remembrance Parade and Service will take place. Roy Woodhead's son Tim, is travelling from Cornwall to lay the poppy wreath on behalf of the Canal Zoners. I sincerely hope that local people, ex-servicemen, and standard, can supplement our small parade.
As age takes its toll, numbers able to attend are decreasing. Nevertheless, I appeal to as many people as possible to join us.
John Taylor, Dugg Hill, Heversham
Expose BNP on question time
I look forward to BNP leader Nick Griffin's appearance on Question Time. He will be well-briefed, polished and no doubt eager to make a few more converts to the cause.
But with luck, the calibre of his fellow panellists will enable them to expose him for the peddler of fascism that he is.
It is a matter of regret that he is now on the gravy train in the European Parliament. Hopefully, those who voted for him will be made to see the error of their ways.
There is a serious debate surrounding immigration but the answer does not lie in the BNP's message of hatred.
Name and address supplied
Check the facts
Recent correspondents have blamed the postal workers for striking. If they had seen how much the job has changed while all the time the bosses have been creaming off unbelievable salaries, they might change their tune.
Postman Pat
(name and address supplied)
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Weather for Wigan
Friday 10 February 2012
Today
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