Readers' letters

I JUST wanted to write a few words following an amazing Ilkley Carnival. It was incredible to work on an event that brought so much pleasure to so many. The event continues to get bigger and better and the quality of the parade was absolutely astonishing. The carnival committee cannot thank enough all of the sponsors, parade entrants, performers, helpers and the people of Ilkley for making this event the great success it now is.

Given all of this positivity it is therefore with some sadness that I must address another issue. Social media can be a wonderful platform which enables us to reach a wide audience quickly. However, when fed with the sort of mis-information that has happened this weekend, social media communication can quickly result in hysteria. Reading the social media platforms over the weekend and the widespread condemnation of Marshalls Amusements appalled me. There were numerous postings which claimed, amongst other things, that there had been a stabbing, kidnapping, a nine-year-old boy in hospital, a ‘glassing’ and numerous burglaries which were all linked to the funfair.

There was an incident on East Holmes Field on Saturday evening which was nothing to do with the fair and no-one from the fair was involved. It was caused by a number of youths (several under-age) drinking alcohol along the riverbank. At one point they did try to access the fair but were refused entry by the security staff who will not allow alcohol on site. As the effects of alcohol and sunshine continued, the situation escalated and the police were called. However, for those that didn’t see the tweet put out by Sgt Softley referring to this incident, I include it here:-

“I want to thank the show people at #Ilkley fairground this evening for standing with us, and their co-operation as we dealt with some minor disorder”.

Rather than people criticising Marshalls Amusements I believe they should be praising them for assisting in keeping our children safe. I have now worked with Marshalls on 10 carnivals and I have not had one single issue with them. Marshalls have proven to me over and over again that they are responsible and are a welcome addition to a family friendly event.

Indeed, I personally believe that without Marshalls there wouldn’t be an Ilkley Carnival. It isn’t too long ago that the carnival we all know and love was struggling financially and through lack of support. In one committee debrief, the possibility of ending this annual event was considered. Without the rent received from the fair that year, Ilkley Carnival would have folded and thousands of children would never have witnessed the wonderful spectacle we saw on Monday.

Ilkley is a wonderful place to live and visit. When the sun shines, just like many other picturesque towns, it draws people to it and unfortunately, at times, some anti-social behaviour. The Riverside area is a natural magnet and anti social behaviour has been happening in this area for a number of years. We have all seen things we would rather not see in that area on weekends when the weather is good. For a change this year’s carnival coincided with some great weather and the antisocial behaviour just happened to be in the same vicinity. Unfortunately, by association, Marshalls and Ilkley Carnival is implicated.

The comments attributing so much crime in Ilkley to the funfair is unfounded – you only need to look online at the town’s crime statistics. If the funfair was such a hotbed of crime then each year there would be a ‘spike’ when the carnival happened in May. Conversely, the figures show May is just a normal month and in 2017, May had the lowest total crime figures for any month of the year with 39 reported crimes. The highest that year was 86 in November, followed by 81 in December.

Marshalls Amusements get lots of criticism but ask local groups AWARE and LS29 for their views on them. The day before the carnival this year the fair provided two hours of free entertainment to 120 children and families from these groups – for the fifth consecutive year. I saw one parent at Ilkley Carnival on Monday who told me how much the children benefitted from this event and how patient and kind the fair operators were in dealing with the children, even carrying them onto rides. Acts like this don’t get the same publicity on social media that news of a stabbing does but sadly, the truth is often less interesting and ‘shareable’ than fake gossip.

The committee of Ilkley Carnival is committed to delivering a safe, family friendly day for our wonderful community. We can only achieve this by working with willing partners and the wider community. In Marshalls Amusements we have a partner that shares our aims and we are very pleased to work with them. This letter has been written in the hope that our community can also see and understand this rather than believe all they read and hear through social media or through third parties. If any residents or groups have concerns they would like to address further then I am happy to meet with them in person, to discuss.

Andrew Stacey

Chairman, Ilkley Carnival

Medical group’s shocking arrogance

A SMALL miracle has occurred. On May 1, 2018, I got to see a doctor at Westgate Surgery, Otley.

The doctor was of course superb and my relief was palpable.

The effort, however, of trying to get an appointment at the surgery and the long wait has had a significant effect on me.

I made the appointment on March 29.

When I went to the surgery last Tuesday morning, there was a notice dramatically placed on the outside door of, and also inside, the surgery. I was shocked at the arrogance of OneMedicalGroup in referring to our elected MP’s ‘claims’ about the surgery. I believe that they are based on reports sent to him by more than a few Westgate patients. Does OMG not understand what the role of an elected MP is?

Perhaps OMG (an unfortunate, though possibly apt, set of initials) thinks that patients should deal with them first? I might agree if I had not myself made two formal complaints in the last six months - one concerning waiting times to get through to the call centre in Leeds, and another about the ever-lengthening time to secure an appointment.

To both I received apologies and courteous formal replies with no information about any measures to be taken to improve matters. Constantly, the message from OMG is that the changes are recent (this despite the call centre being introduced, I believe, as long ago as last July without any pilot).

The other message is that it is the same elsewhere.

It is not.

A third message, one that I do not doubt, is that everyone is working very hard at the surgery.

The watch words of One Medical Group Group (proudly displayed on the walls of the surgery) are: Patients First, Positive Relationships, Professionalism, Innovation and Commitment.

If you can get to see a medical professional, I would not demur one iota. Otherwise...these catchphrases are at best meaningless; at worst they are offensive - like the notice at the surgery last week.

I do not want to go to a surgery where everyone is working late and is exhausted. I want a surgery with systems (not always electronic) that work efficiently, a surgery in which staff are trained in those systems, trained to be sympathetic and to speak appropriately to patients.

OMG seems to expect their Otley patients to acquiesce quietly in the face of their complacency. What a mistake.

Sandy Goulding,

Birdcage Walk,

Otley