'We've got to get it right, the alternative is too scary!' - Your Letters: April 21
PICTURE FROM THE ARCHIVE: The famous actor David Niven during the making of the movie Candleshoe, parts of which were filmed on the Severn Valley Railway at Hampton Loade. This picture was taken there. This is a print in the Shropshire Star picture archive and it was taken on either Tuesday, October 12, 1976 or Wednesday, October 13, 1976, and was published in the Shropshire Star on Thursday, October 14, 1976, with the caption: 'Actor David Niven, who is filming Candleshoe for Walt Disney Productions, on location on the Severn Valley Railway line at Hampton Loade, near Bridgnorth, seen during rehearsals yesterday.
IT'S OUR 'SUMMER OF OF DISCONTENT'
Firstly, a misquote from Shakespeare: Now comes our summer of discontent, made worse by public health and hygiene problems.
Well now back to being serious, Birmingham residents are suffering a 'dirty' problem in that for several weeks the refuse collection service has hardly operated. Rubbish piles up in the streets, rats are running around with little chance or danger of being caught. It's alleged in the media that some employees will lose several thousands of pounds in wages by Birmingham having to refuse to regrade their jobs to maintain wages at current levels.
They've had to do this because they're skint/broke/bankrupt (take your pick which word) and this all came about after the city council lost their case on equal wages with men and women. If they caved in, they say, and give more money they will then be involved in even more payouts under equality rules. The council is between a rock and a hard place here, give in and be even more in debt, fight it and get strike action. They've already had to increase council taxes by more than HM Government said, as you can guess Brummie residents don't like it.
Solution? I wish I knew, all I think about it is the Winter of Discontent back in the 1970s. Do we really want that, or need it? I wish I knew but I'm only an ordinary working class bloke, not as clever as politicians like Ms Reeves and her mates in Government, who seem intent on pushing our economy into a state of Stagflation (economy not growing but prices rising faster). When the present lot took over last July, our economy was growing at about two per cent, not brilliant but one of the better ones in the G7 group. Now it's less than half that. Foreign speculators shun investing here, why? Couldn't be they don't rate her or two Faced Starmer could it? Unless our economy gets some growth in it will we all wind up like Birmingham? Pray we don't.
Coping with Trump's economic theory is bad enough, without making it worse for ourselves.
Please let sanity and good sense get into the negotiations, we've got to get it right, the alternative is too scary!
Michael Gough, Wombourne
WELL DONE TO GRAFFITI ARTISTS
