CONGRATULATIONS on your publication of the Cummings and Goings column (LET, May 11) regarding the healthy rivalry between the supporters of Burnley FC and Blackburn Rovers fans. Thank heavens for Stephen Cummings being allowed to express what so many
THE government's proposals to allow children to opt out of team games or collective activities, such as football, cricket, rugby, may in the long-term prove disastrous. Playing a team game can form character and forge reliance on one another to help achieve
IT WILL be a match of the day with a difference for soccer star Phil Neville - for he's planning to wed Rossendale girl Julie Killelea in an end of year millennium wedding. Julie, 23, of Chapel Hill, Rawtenstall, has been dating Phil, 22, for more than
FOR Neil Bramwell (LET, May 13) to castigate Alex Ferguson for "petty resentment" over Brian Kidd leaving Old Trafford is amazing. This is the man who has taken every opportunity to show his own resentment with anyone who has left Ewood Park over the
GYM staff have helped a Pendle woman prepare for a mammoth 45-mile charity walk, by devising specialist exercises to build her up for the challenge. Elaine Eccles, 54, of Beacon Close, Colne, aims to raise as much money as possible for Hospice Care for
A SCOUT band from Rossendale launching a new compact disc was delighted to discover it had been awarded a grant from the National Lottery. The surprise announcement was made to 2nd Rossendale Scout Group Band by David Edmondson, a parent of two young
DEAR Uncle Jack, Please excuse me for addressing you in such familiar terms. It's just that we've been through a shared experience recently, a family bereavement if you like, as Rovers Premiership dream died. We all felt the pain, but probably no-one
THE long-time unthinkable is now upon us - Blackburn Rovers no longer a Premiership club. After 50 years of being a Rovers' supporter, this season has hurt more than any other I can remember in terms of bitter disappointment. The reasons why the club
CHRIS Sutton has already had talks with Blackburn Rovers manager Brian Kidd and chief executive John Williams about his future with Blackburn Rovers. Speculation in a national newspaper today claimed he would be called in by Kidd and put up for sale this
REGARDING your coverage (Sport Extra, May 5) of the game between the Railway Hotel and the Centurions in the Eddleston Cup Final at the Anchor Ground, Darwen, I must ask whether your reporter Steve Tinniswood is a Centurions supporter? I think it's disgusting
DEAN West looks set to be one of the first names in the frame when Burnley boss Stan Ternent steps up his summer squad strengthening. The Bury defender is odds-on to leave Gigg Lane after four seasons with the Shakers. And Ternent may well have pencilled
ULTRAFRAME today reported record sales and a jump in profits as it continued its success in the City. The latest good news from Clitheroe's biggest employer saw its shares edge up to be almost treble the price they were when they floated on the stock
AS A loyal Burnley fan of 26 years, I feel obliged to write about the moronic tone of Stephen Cummings' article (LET, May 11). Being a lone Burnley fan in a Rovers-dominated workplace, I will admit to feeling a certain amount of satisfaction regarding
I SEE Cummings has finally got it off his chest. After several weeks of sniping at Rovers' expense he now devotes his entire column (LET, May 11) to Blackburn Rovers. Why we are exposed to his childish drivel in the Darwen edition of your newspaper is
I AM writing to the thief who stole the flower arrangement from my father's grave in Darwen Cemetery. How low can you sink? You even took the message I wrote from my heart. Do you have a heart? It was the first anniversary of my father's death when my
HAVING yet to truly match its fine words on welfare reform with firm action, the government again found its nerve being tested today on proposed cuts in disability benefits - and ended up putting off the deed for fear of unleashing what could be possibly
JOHN Crawley did not mince his words after a disastrous Lancashire collapse at Old Trafford yesterday. Needing 311 to beat Northants, they crumbled to 121 all out and a second successive defeat, which leaves them struggling in the bottom five of the championship
HAVE you ever wondered where television audiences come from and why programmes need them? The answer is, they are actually people just like you and me and they are important to quiz and game shows, which need the atmosphere a live audience provides. Among
I AM a student at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, researching the lives of early New Zealand women doctors who trained between 1891 and 1914. I am particularly interested in information relating to Dr Gladys Montgomery, who enrolled for
FOLLOWING the results of the council elections your Comment column (LET, May 7) said that "many Labour supporters stayed at home content with how the country is run." I would suggest that, far from being content, many 'Old Labour' voters - and there are
ANIMAL rescuers are hoping someone can identify a man who tried to drown a puppy in the Leeds and Liverpool Canal in Burnley. The man was spotted carrying the dog on the canal bank near to the Mitre Pub, off Trafalgar Street, by a couple who were walking
ONE of East Lancashire's biggest employers has a new boss. Bob Watson has been appointed to head up Darwen-based Imperial Home Decor Group following the retirement of Neil Sharrock after four years as chief executive at the wallcoverings firm. "My work
SCHOOLS taking part in our Super Story Search newspaper based on literacy project are given sets of free books to review and keep. The review featured today is from RICHARD BELSEN, year 5, Crawshawbooth County Primary School, Rossendale. THE NIGHT MARE
A SUPER camera and film will be snapped up by the winner of our NIE photography competition for eight to 16-year-olds, launched last week. Professional photographer Jack Barry has generously donated a Braun Handy-BF camera and will also give a talk and
MINISTERS were today warned by an East Lancashire MP to pay close attention to a new report from top doctors urging a ban on foods genetically modified to resist antibiotics, because of health fears. The British Medical Association fears that certain
AN investigation into the behaviour of a suspended primary school headteacher should be completed this week. The chairman of governors at St Paul's CE School, Hoddlesden, the Rev Paul Wallington, said staff would be interviewed about alleged breaches
IN THE closing stages of the season, it became obvious that Rovers did not have the nerve to survive in the top flight. All around me, irrationally-optimistic Rovers' fans hoped for a last-minute reprieve - even after the Nottingham Forest debacle - true
A CARERS Panel may be set up as the result of a conference for carers on mental health issues. The conference will cover the whole of East Lancashire. It is being held at the Oakenhead day care centre, Haslingden Old Road, Rawtenstall, from 10.30am to
NEIL Bramwell's article (LET, May 6) was the funniest I have read for a long time. If he took off his blue and white blinkers for long enough, he would see just how awful Blackburn Rovers are. According to him, they are the only team with injuries and
GUTLESS, inept, passionless, words that too easily spring to mind about Blackburn Rovers this season. The pinnacle was reached against Forest with a performance that was an insult to supporters. They didn't even give 50 per cent effort to supporters who
A WOMAN aid worker from East Lancashire who helped dozens of Kosovo refugees to safety today told how Serbs were using people as human shields in the strife-torn Balkan conflict. Just days after returning home, Kate Ogden, 37, of Castle Road, Colne, revealed
BURNLEY MP Peter Pike's car was targeted by thieves who smashed the rear window - and stole a Burnley FC anorak. The Vauxhall Omega saloon had been parked outside the Labour Party offices in Victoria Street, Burnley, at around 9pm on Sunday night. Converted
JACK WALKER'S airline has come to the rescue of stranded Manchester United fans. Just days after United sent Rovers down, Jersey European Airways has launched special flights for Reds unable to reach Barcelona for the European cup final. The firm has
DON'T just look back in anger at the past few months for the reasons why Blackburn Rovers are now facing up to life in the Nationwide League. Not when there have been so many other major factors, going back to the summer of 1995 when the club fatally
I WAS surprised to read Stephen Cummings column (LET, May 11) in which he attempted to explain the extreme rivalry between Blackburn and Burnley football supporters. He suggested that the hatred expressed between some of these supporters should be expected
HUNDREDS of gravestones have been torn down and memorial crosses smashed in a systematic act of vandalism at an East Lancashire cemetery. Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward after the headstones were ripped up and shattered throughout Roe
BRIAN Kidd has made no secret of the fact that he stepped into the managerial minefield with Blackburn Rovers because he relished the challenge - the chance to be his own man. When the final whistle signalled the end of the game against his old club Manchester
I CANNOT let Neil Yates (Sports Letters, May 11) get away with his defence of referees. He mentions that referee Gary Willard sent off three Barnsley players at Oakwell Park, but I would ask would he or any other Premiership ref have sent off three United
Under Fives Green Theme Fancy Dress, Mill Hill Community Centre, Blackburn, 1.30pm. "Wheel Deal With It," Green Lane Community Centre, Blackburn, 1pm. Bulb Planting, Earcroft Community Base, Darwen, 1pm. Planting Herb Boxes, Bank Top Community Centre,
A HUGE operation to prepare a East Lancashire hospital complex for Kosovo refugees was launched today. The first plane load of refugees from the war-torn province will arrive at Calderstones Hospital, Whalley, on Monday night. And now the race is on for
FOURTEEN good reasons for the demise of Blackburn Rovers - Given, Pearce, Berg, Hendry, Le Saux, Ripley, Sherwood, Bohinen, Batty, Shearer, Beattie. Subs: May, Wright, Sellars. Further comment is unnecessary. C BERRY, Accrington. Converted for the new
SO STEPHEN Cummings (LET, May 11) thinks Rovers' fans hate Burnley, does he? Let me tell him now, I don't hate anyone. To me, Burnley are irrelevant, and to call us their rivals flatters them somewhat. But it tells you something when he takes up all his
IT APPEARS Stephen Cummings (LET, May 11), is living in some sort of time-warp dating back to the 1970s when he talks of a mutual hatred between Rovers and Burnley fans. Certainly, long-standing supporters like myself remember only too well some bitter
AMID all the 'ifs' and 'buts' as to Rovers' position - not good enough, bad previous management, spending on players with less ability than outgoing ones, a horrendous season for injuries and red cards, to name but a few - perhaps we should look at four
THE £10-million bidding starts this week for Chris Sutton. I just wonder how many games he would have played in if he was on "pay-if-you-play" like the rest should have been. The Rovers have turned into a club that cannot hang on to its better players
THE destruction of hundreds of gravestones in Blackburn's old cemetery is not only a violation of the common decency, it is also a measure of official unconcern. Though this cemetery is no longer used and although many of the 200,000 interred there are
I AM writing to invite your readers to take part in a breathtaking adventure on June 5 and 6 weekend, when the North West branch of the British Lung Foundation is holding a charity abseil at the Jarvis Piccadilly Hotel, Manchester. With the help of readers
SNOOKER: Borough are struggling in the Darwen Snooker League knockout. Still reeling from a home defeat against Mill Gap, they crashed 5-2 away to Punch. Borough, pipped by a point for the league title, should still qualify for the play-off stages but
SOME folk will tell you that summer is "a good thing." They will talk in glowing terms of warmer weather, the sound of leather on willow and the prospect of getting away from it all for a couple of weeks. Don't believe a word of it. At best these people
CONTROVERSY raged in the Blackburn and District Association Second Division promotion play-off match with Third Division Prince Sports walking off the court after only four games had been played. This left Abacus somewhat surprised at their action, but
CHORLEY could be faced with a mass exodus in the wake of the shock departure of manager Dalton Steele. The ex-Winsford United boss held an emergency meeting with the club's playing staff at Birch Services last night in a bid to explain the events of the
WE are now heading towards the hay fever season and now is the time to gain treatment for your problem before it really gets hold. Conventional remedies for allergic rhinitis or hay fever include beconase, piriton and terfenadine, which may help but could
RESPONDING to my earlier comments on the demise of the traditional British pub, Margo Carmichael-Grimshaw said my remark about "anti-social gangs marauding the town night and day" was a bit exaggerated (Letters, April 16). We all speak as we find and
A second youth has been arrested in connection with an incident in which 17-year-old Peter Mee was stabbed in the chest. Peter suffered a punctured lung and is in Burnley General Hospital where his condition was today as "critical but stable". The incident
A RECONSTRUCTION of a Burnley rape attack will be shown on television today. The attack in Padiham Road, Burnley, in the early hours of Saturday, April 24, will be highlighted on the Granada Crimefile programme. An eighteen-year-old girl was taken 150
POLICE investigating a town centre street robbery in Burnley are appealing for witnesses - especially men in cars only yards from the scene. A bakery worker was threatened as he was taking the store's takings to the bank at about 5pm on Saturday. The
CHRIS Sutton has already had talks with Blackburn Rovers manager Brian Kidd and chief executive John Williams about his future with Blackburn Rovers. Speculation in a national newspaper today claimed he would be called in by Kidd and put up for sale this
CHARITIES are being urged to join in an end-of-millennium extravaganza at this year's Famous Accrington Carnival. Organisers Accrington Lions are calling on more local people and groups to get involved in the big biennial event which takes place on Saturday
STAFF at a building society branch are celebrating after being presented with an award. The Colne branch of the Skipton has been awarded the office of the quarter award by the building society for its customer service and performance. Converted for the
A MOTHER-of-three told how she was "hysterical" after she was woken by a man having sex with her. The woman, a registered drug addict, said she was shouting and screaming and was a "wreck" after the alleged attack by Terence McCabe, 26, last October.
A £750,000 investment at a call centre has been connected. Connections Plus has installed the state-of-the-art call centre software at its Burnley headquarters. The software will enable the firm to deal with fax, e-mail, digital TV and the Internet in
THIRTY three pupils at a Blackburn school have completed their literacy targets to earn reading rewards and certificates. All children in year five at St Matthew's CE Primary School have spent the past month working through our Super Story Search workbooks
SOAPBOX: In our readers' comment column, poet JOHN PHELAN, of Great Harwood, turns from verse to set down his thoughts on the teachers' plight as their pay looks likely to be linked to their pupils' performance... EVERYONE wants the best for their children
A NEW group to champion the cause of Lancashire's manufacturing and engineering industries has been launched. The Lancashire Road, Rail and Automotive Partnership has been launched to concentrate on firms which work within the transport industry. More
HUNDREDS of gravestones have been torn down and memorial crosses smashed in a systematic act of vandalism at an East Lancashire cemetery. Police are appealing for witnesses to come forward after the headstones were ripped up and shattered throughout Roe
