Call of duty to block phone nuisances

LIKE Barbara Harrison (The Yorkshire Post, December 13), we, too, were getting frustrated with the number of nuisance calls coming through to us, in spite of being registered with the Telephone Preference Scheme.

We then discovered Advanced Call Blocker telephones and ordered a pair of digital cordless phones, with an answering machine. They claim to block up to 100 per cent of nuisance calls and, to date, they are living up to that claim.

When setting up the new phones we input into the phone book the details of those people we speak to on a regular basis and their calls come through without intervention. Anyone else calling for the first time has to negotiate the Call Guardian and announce themselves; we have the option of accepting or declining the call – most people who go to the trouble of announcing themselves are genuine. We can then choose to allow calls from that number to come through in future. All calls from numbers that are not held in the accepted calls list are intercepted, including “withheld”, “unavailable” and International calls. If a regular caller withholds their number you cannot automatically enable such calls to come through in future – you would need to input their phone number.

Although we always felt we received a lot of unsolicited calls, we did not realise how many there were until they stopped getting through.

You need to subscribe to the caller display service for the Call Guardian to be fully effective. Our two telephone set cost around £50 and we consider it to be our most useful acquisition of recent times. Peace and joy!

Putting spin on cricket

From: Steve Wilson, Lenton Villas, Bradford.

I REFER to your article on the proposed regeneration of the Park Avenue cricket ground in Bradford (The Yorkshire Post, December 11). Forget the fanciful spin and let me explain.

Cricket’s participation numbers are diminishing as proven by a national survey this year; those of us involved in the grassroots game have known this for years so had no need for an ECB (English Cricket Board) survey. The ECB receives a slug of funding from Sport England who, in turn, have proven reluctant to fund sports – including football – where participants are declining.

The ECB’s response to this was predictable and woeful involving throwing cash around based on ethnicity, gender and physicality; in doing so they tick the right boxes for the faceless mandarins signing the cheques.

Bradford is one of five cities selected for extra funding based entirely on ethnicity. They tell us we need an extra 18 grounds (for a game in decline?) which is utter rubbish; there are too many clubs and even fewer volunteers to run these. That this “strategy” has failed hopelessly before – Manningham Mills – is conveniently ignored.

The chance to redevelop was lost decades ago. Far better to sell the land and, in part, create a fund that can be used to assist those clubs currently working hard to keep the game alive across Bradford, not just in selected postcodes.

Badly thought-out, uncosted and ignoring the real issues this is another example of how millions are wasted and why hard-working volunteers simply walk away.

Germany’s ambitions

From: AI Stubbs, Bridlington.

IN addition to making cars and wind turbines and to achieving financial and economic dominance in Europe (The Yorkshire Post, Decenber 5), Germany is building a European army.

In June this year, the Dutch signed the core of their army over to Germany. This wasn’t a small experiment.

Germany also wants to employ this military integration and relationship with other nations. Indeed, Austria and Poland already share military training and exercises with the German army and are thinking of following suit. According to Die Welt, the German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said “this co-operation and integration will intensify” and wants it to be seen as a model for Europe’s common security and defence policy.

So while Britain remains silent on the sidelines, Germany is driving the “Euroarmy Project” along the road to a United States of Europe.

No justice over judges

From: John Rookes, Bramley, Rotherham.

i LOVE Tom Richmond’s Saturday slot, particularly when he gives MPs a deserved kicking. In the most recent slot (The Yorkshire Post, December 13), he touched on a few things that I have my own thoughts on.

What can be done about our masters when they won’t take responsibilty for their own conduct? MPs playing computer games, Crown Court judges falling asleep during rape trials. Had that been a London underground train driver falling asleep, he would have been fired on the spot and probably escorted off the property.

As a longstanding critic of this country’s judiciary, I am always bemused by the fact that you can get rid of an MP through the ballot box, you can even get rid of the Prime Minister, but you can’t get rid of a judge.