Put orphanage to good use
I was pleased to read, when I arrived back from holiday, that Preston Council is thinking about buying the Harris Orphanage back.
That's a great idea.
The people who used to live there as children will be pleased as well. After all, it was their home for a long time, and some of them still visit it.
The heritage centre seems a good idea, as it will create jobs.
But I would like to see it used to help disabled children or the homeless, as this was what it was for in the first place.
Homeless people could be trained to do a job there, so that they might make something of themselves, instead of walking the streets.
I also propose that those responsible for selling it off in the first place, should pay the biggest contribution towards getting it back into public ownership.
Joan Barker, Fulwood

Fewer shaker holes won't cut salt intake
I received a cutting from the Irish Daily Mail from a friend.
The heading was: "Healthy salt shakers to cut deaths from heart disease."
Council officials in Britain are now supplying chip shops new "five-hole" salt shakers so that customers use less salt than they do when shaking the 17-hole ones.
One of them, Preston Council in Lancashire said it would help cut the salt intake of residents by 60% and reduce the city's shocking rate of heart disease deaths.
One or two chip shop owners in Preston thought it was a waste of money and time.
I think it will have given anyone reading the article a good laugh. They'll think Preston Council are sad if they have nothing better to do but count holes in salt shakers.
It all depends on the person using the shaker.
However many holes it has, they will shake until they have got enough for their tastes.
Healthy Eater (name and address supplied)

Dog hit-and-run just the latest accident
On Friday night a week ago, I was unfortunate to witness what would probably have been the last minutes of a lovely American boxer dog's life outside my house close to the new Invincibles stand at Preston North End.
The dog, which was on the footpath and on a lead with its young owner, was struck by a car which had mounted the footpath because it was taking the corner too fast.
To make matters worse the driver didn't even have the decency to stop.
The Lowthorpe Road corner has been made even more dangerous by the extension of the stand which is poorly lit in the evenings.
Surely there must be a case for an improved lighting system or even speed bumps in this area.
In my time here there have been several bumps and crashes - an average of one a month.
Having twice previously contacted the environmental health department about the construction work on the new stand going on through the night, I've lost my faith in going through these channels so would like to bring the matter to attention through your letters pages.
It is unacceptable in these days of modern technology to put your life into your hands every time you cross the road on this corner and it's about time some of the speeding lunatics on the road were taken off it.
At the very least a "dangerous bend" sign would not go amiss, otherwise the Invincibles stand might one morning find its reception area resembling a used car scrapyard.
J Smith, via email

Top clubs in danger of ignoring Brits
The takeover of Manchester City recently may not just guarantee them becoming the biggest and best team in the world.
It also signals a trend that surely guarantees, before long, that all our Premier League teams will be filled with players from around the world as opposed to players from around the British Isles.
A good result, maybe, for City but a bad one for the youth players of England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Darryl Ashton, Wycombe Avenue, Blackpool

Campaigners put on great beer festival
Having attended the Lytham Beer Festival at Lowther Pavillion I wanted to congratulate the Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre branch of the Campaign for Real Ale for organising such a fantastic event.
CAMRA is a great organisation promoting quality local beer as well as leading the debate on a sustainable future for the brewing industry and the responsible enjoyment of alcohol.
L Robinson, Prospective Parliamentary Candidate, Fylde Labour Party

No chance to shelter fruits of my labour
"Raindrops keep falling on my head" has been the perfect anthem for our soggy summer.
I think I would have been better off growing watercress this year rather than my customary outdoor tomatoes which have been swamped by the constant downpours and have rotted away as a result.
I will now have to resort to buying those imported tasteless excuses for real tomatoes they sell in
supermarkets.
For my money you can't beat the good old fashioned taste of home grown tomatoes but unfortunately in my case, having no room for a greenhouse, I found out this year that outdoor ones need shelter from the storm.
What happened to those lazy, hazy days of summer?
Ben Warburton, Eaves Lane, Chorley

Too easy to criticise Brown's energy plan
Gordon Brown has taken some stick over Labour's plans to help low-paid homeowners to insulate their lofts in the light of swingeing energy price rises, instead of taking more direct action.
But every little helps, as my granny used to say.
And it does seem unfair when Mr Brown's party has been responsible for introducing pensioners' winter fuel payments as well as other measures to help the elderly, including nationwide free bus travel. People are always so quick to criticise governments, which is why it is always easier being on the opposition benches.
Name and address supplied

Guild was delayed by World War Two
C Simpson (Letters, September 25) asks how, if the Guild is held every 20 years, there could be a photograph of the 1902 Guild and a mug in his possession which was produced for the 1972 Guild.
The answer is simple. There was no Guild in 1942 - we were in the middle of the Second World War.
So the Guild was postponed, and held in 1952 instead, and subsequently in 1972 and 1992... and, unless the world comes to an end, in 2012.
Alan Crosby, Wellington Street, Preston
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