Readers' letters - May 20

It is now five months since the centre of Lancaster was flooded out and it still looks like a town that, was, well, flooded out.

I can’t help but wonder if this would be the case if we were in London or the South East.

It will happen again, there is no doubt about that.

We need decisive action and adequate defences now.

We need ones that are based on the present and increased rainfall that the future will bring.

This has not been done in the past.

Millions were spent and the town disrupted by the creation of a flood defence and ‘improved’ drainage system, both of which failed the first time they were truly tested.

Due to cuts, the strapped council has not yet found the funds or ability to carry out basic cleaning operations.

Nearly every kerb side drain you look down is full of silt.

Soon the council won’t have any emergency funds left as they have to use them just to provide basic services.

This situation has got to stop for all our sakes.

Steve Andrews via email

Invite Sir Tom to Eurovision

Regarding the Eurovision Song Contest and, yet again, our pathetic and pitiful contribution to this much loved entertainment.

Our total lack of success is fast becoming a major annual embarrassment.

So why do not our UK organisers seriously consider inviting some really established performer to represent us in the future?

Even the likes of Sir Tom Jones or Dame Shirley Bassey could well prevent us from becoming the ‘musical joke’ of Europe!

Mr Ruthven Urquhart

via email

BBC, show more Invictus action

It’s a real shame that BBC managers and producers decided not to devote additional time to showing more Invictus Games action.

Out of four and a half hours of fairly good TV, only one and a quarter hours – and that’s being generous – covered action during the five-day event.

Fine coverage of background information – stories, interviews and explanations – no criticism of that, but where was the action?

The athletes committed themselves to hours, days, weeks, months and, in most cases, years of effort.

Was it not disrespectful of BBC management to commit only one quarter of TV air time to showing and proving their tremendous skills and competitive abilities?

BBC programme makers do not cover enough sport as it is -–apart from the footie fanatics – and when there’s an opportunity to do good all round, they even ignore that.

Four days of competitive sport – so at least two more hours devoted entirely to the action next time around please.

Ian Smith via email

Difficult to find shrinking cake

Premier Foods, the makers of Mr Kipling cakes, expects sales to grow between two and four per cent this financial year.

In the meantime, we can expect Mr Kipling cakes to shrink even more. I have always enjoyed these cakes by pouring fresh cream, or ice cream, all over them, but sadly, I have great difficulty in finding the cake well hidden in the wrapper.

Darryl Ashton, Blackpool

Show makes me want to ‘Brexit’

I’d vote for Brexit if it meant we didn’t take part in the Eurovision freak show.

Andrew Mercer, 
address supplied

Could you help 2376 Squadron?

2376 (Bamber Bridge) Squadron is asking for help from the local communities of Bamber Bridge, Lostock Hall, Leyland, Chorley and surrounding districts.

We are trying to find a complete list of commanding officers for the squadron (with dates if possible), since its formation back in 1961 as 2050 (Leyland) Detached Flight.

The squadron has been based on Mounsey Road, Bamber Bridge, for many years, in the old Guardroom of the old American Army Air Force Camp Adam’s Hall, where the famous Battle of Bamber Bridge took place in 1943.

The Air Cadets celebrate their 75th Anniversary this year and the squadron is celebrating the 55th anniversary of its formation on December 1 this year. Any information would be welcome and can be sent to oc.2376@

aircadets.org. The squadron is open to boys and girls, from 12 years old and in year 8 at school.

John Kay, 2376 (Bamber Bridge) Squadron Air Cadets

01772 491136 (Monday/Thursday 7pm to 9.30pm)

Let’s have clarity and honesty

I seem to have lost interest in the devious doings of politics these days, but must say that I would very much appreciate IMF chief Ms Lagarde telling us how pretty bad to very, very bad the consequences of Britain leaving the EU might be from both an IMF/EU perspective.

We hear so much biased high-power rhetoric in favour of staying in Europe, one is tempted to think there is something we are not being told.

At the outset of this, I was certainly undecided, now I am convinced getting out of Europe is the better of the two options.

A little clarity and honesty would be wonderful.

Joseph G Dawson, Chorley

Mussolini and punctual trains

Boris Johnson claims a reason to Brexit is because European unification was promoted by a fascist dictator. However, a policy is not necessarily bad just because it has such support.

Mussolini is reputed to have made the Italian trains run on time. Not even Boris could criticise this aspiration for our modern UK railway system!

John Eoin Douglas via email