Readers' letters - May 24

Tim Berners-Lee would surely have kept his invention to himself, if he could have looked into the future.

Once the genie is out of the bottle, it is impossible to put it back in, but now given the downsides of the internet, we must realise the monster that has been released.

The good things that the internet brought into our lifestyles at first made everything possible.

It changed the way we lived, both at work and at play.

However, we are now seeing its downsides, and what downsides.

Online grooming of the young, bullying, terrorism and cyber fraud, the list is endless.

And now to add to the list we have the hackers. Both of the state persuasion and criminal.

But after this latest attack by hackers, which can cripple whole institutions and leave countries vulnerable to ransom demands by criminal elements, surely the time has come for a worldwide position to be adopted to police the internet, especially as those currently in control cannot or will not police it themselves.

Alan Ogden

via email

sport

Team performed another miracle

Another season ends and Jim Bentley, his staff and players, also known as Band of Brothers, perform another miracle in maintaining Morecambe Football Club’s tenuous hold on their position in the English Football League.

His budget is the lowest in League 2 and as many as eight clubs in the National League have more money at their disposal.

Jim and Ken never moan about this imbalance but it is taking its toll on them. The catastrophic position the club is in defies any sort of logic.

A man wants to sell something so he agrees a fee and, with a shake of the hand, a cheque and a signature, the deal is done, it couldn’t be simpler but the farce surrounding the sale of Morecambe FC takes incompetence to a whole new level.

We recently played a club who had a goalkeeper on loan from a Premiership club – his wages of £15,000 per week were equal to Jim’s budget for the whole of his playing staff.

It is fine for fans to dream about finishing in the top seven but those aspirations must be tempered with a huge amount of realism, you cannot drive a Rolls Royce when you can only afford a second-hand Mini.

To stay in League 2 for six consecutive years under such restraints is nothing short of a miracle, but without help, the supporters of the Shrimps will only be left with memories of the Globe Arena and Christie Park and almost 100 years of history will be jeopardised.

The achievements of Jim and his team deserve the highest accolade, much higher than winning the Premier League where money and balancing the books is an irrelevance.

A turbulent season is now over. So, what is the verdict?

In short, the manager and the players have done their job. Magnificently.

The supporters have done their job. Magnificently.

And, thankfully, the thick fog of uncertainty and apprehension that has enveloped the club for so long over the question of ownership has partially lifted, following the recent court ruling.

But there remains much to be done in order to put Morecambe FC back on an even keel. Swift action is required to ensure sanity returns to the Globe in time for next season. Who is going to step up to the plate?

Mike Whalley and

Terry Ainsworth

Addresses supplied

local politics

Voters were ignored

I am just writing to vent my frustration about the elections on May 4.

I live in a park home and was disgusted I did not receive one leaflet for any candidate in my ward. I had no idea who was standing, for what party, or what they wanted to achieve.

I went to the polling station to express my frustration but there was no one outside either.

I went inside to tell them exactly why I wouldn’t be voting and they showed me where there was a poster with the names of the candidates and their party. I wrote down the names so that I could look on my laptop and find out how to contact them. I found nothing of any use at all so I decided to try the town hall. They were pleasant and gave me some information about one of the candidates.

I got home and tried the email address I was given but it was not delivered, so then I tried a land line phone number which was no use.

So I can’t get in touch with any of them.

We are always told about the poor turnout at local elections, but who is going to go and put a X on a ballot paper for someone they have never even heard of?

It’s about time they took their head out of the sand and get out there and canvass if they want to be elected.

There must be at least 50 people here and I suspect hardly anyone (if any) took the time to vote. I am sure that there are plenty of other ‘voters’ who feel the same as I do.

Lynne Danson

Address supplied

fund-raising

Local charity

of the Year

Sainsbury’s Local Charity of the Year scheme is back for the ninth year and the Preston Fishergate Local store is calling for local charity nominations to be its flagship local charity for the next year.

At the end of May, the store will shortlist three charities for customers to vote for.

The winning charity will then receive a year of support from the store, which includes fundraising and awareness raising.

Customers can vote between June 12 to 25, in stores and online.

The Sainsbury’s Local Charity of the Year scheme has raised over £13m and has helped thousands of charities across the UK since its launch in 2009.

The scheme is open to any UK registered charity, so anyone who works for a charity, or would like to encourage a local charity to apply, can collect a form from the store.

Nominations close on May 28 and the shortlisted charities will be announced in June.

For more information about Sainsbury’s Local Charity of the Year scheme, visit www.sainsburyslocalcharity.co.uk

Paul Heyes

Store Manager