Following Sunday evening’s Concert for the Street Children, held for the first time at Ilkley Baptist Church, we would like to thank not only the young singers who turned up from miles away, through blizzards and ice, in order to perform, but to all the people who packed the church to listen to this annual concert and who contributed to over £400 being raised for the two charities – Children Walking Tall in India and St Joseph’s Orphanage in Haiti.

An apology is due to the good people of Ben Rhydding who are under the impression that we deliberately moved away from our usual venue at St John’s Church, where these concerts have taken place for over 12 years. Unfortunately, we were told that the church was not available on this date and, as it is not possible to change it due to students returning home just in time for Christmas, we were delighted that we could still give the concert, but in a new venue. And our thanks to Stuart Jenkins for his kind welcome to us there.

Who knows what 2010 will bring, but everyone who sang their hearts out on Sunday was already committed to December 2010 when we know that the date will be Sunday, December 19. Make a note in your new diary now!

We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy New Year.

James and Catherine Griffett

Cleasby Road, Menston

Arthritis doesn’t go away for Christmas

For most of us, Christmas is a time for getting together with the family, celebrating with friends, eating wonderful food and exchanging presents. But for many of Yorkshire & Humber’s 760,000 people with arthritis, it can be a surprisingly lonely time. Some who are severely affected by the condition may be housebound in icy weather, while others are isolated by their own pain and the depression it causes, even when surrounded by people.

Arthritis doesn’t go away for Christmas, and just because someone doesn’t complain or is not obviously in pain doesn’t mean they are not suffering inside. To help, I’m proud to say that Arthritis Care is opening its help lines for extra days during the holiday: this special Santa Service means that people in Yorkshire and Humber who are cut off by pain or loneliness can pick up the phone and get real support from someone who understands. So, if you or someone in the family has arthritis, do keep Arthritis Care’s free number 0808 800 4050 nearby: it could make a real difference in a moment of need.

I wish all your readers a very happy Christmas.

Jane Asher

Thanks to all who helped after Tsunami

Five years ago this Boxing Day the Asian tsunami unleashed a wave of almost unimaginable human suffering. Hundreds of thousands of people lost their lives and millions were left struggling to survive a disaster the like of which none of us had ever seen.

The Red Cross was helping people on the ground within minutes of the wave striking and, in the UK, we launched an appeal to support the aid effort. Support from the public was phenomenal and enabled us to mount our largest relief operation since the Second World War. Across the country donations poured in from those who, moved by scenes of ordinary people battling to survive, gave whatever they could.

The challenges were unprecedented, the decisions incredibly difficult, but today I am extremely proud of what the Red Cross has achieved in helping rebuild people’s lives and, more than that, building them back stronger.

On behalf of the Red Cross, and the millions of people we were able to help, I would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who supported us. It has been a long road to recovery, but now, five years on, our work is completed.

Thousands of families have been re-housed, sustainable livelihoods have been secured and communities are recovering and more resilient than they have ever been. To find out more about how the money you gave has been used and the difference it has made to people’s lives visit recoveringafuture.org.uk.

Sir Nick Young

Chief Executive, British Red Cross

Toxic lending in US to blame for crisis

The current financial crisis was precipitated not by Brown but by the toxic loans undertaken by the American banks and specifically the collapse last year of Lehman Brothers. When the rippples of that hit this country the Conservatives advocated a "no action" policy and were prepared to abandon Northern Rock. The governments decision to take Northern Rock into temporary public ownership saved its depositors’ nest-eggs, and kept thousands of jobs.

As our economy recovers from this American bank disaster, Northern Rock can be sold off at a profit. The British tax payer now owns a large portion of the UK Bank industry and these are major assets to be sold profitably in the future. There is a budget deficit and no doubt cuts will follow. But the starting point should be tax dodgers.

According to an official estimate the loopholes, evasions and other flaws in the tax system are costing the country £40 billion in revenue a year. Now is the time to have a fairer tax system that makes it harder for people to avoid paying the proper amount of tax.

The tax reforms should also include a tax on all financial market transactions that encourage the socially useless speculative dealings by currency traders.

It is the hard working people in this constituency that have bailed out the banks. Those on lower and middle incomes pay a much greater proportion of their salaries in tax. They should not have to shoulder the burden of reckless bankers and speculators.

The government was right to intervene in the way it did and when it did. The recent announcement of a tax on bankers’ bonuses is a step in the right direction. We now need close tax loopholes and send a clear message to tax dodgers.

Jane Thomas

Labour PPC, Keighley

Fireworks can force assistance dogs to retire

With the New Year increasingly welcomed through fireworks celebrations, guide dog and other assistance dog owners are becoming increasingly worried about the safety of their dogs, many of whom find the loud bangs associated with fireworks too much to bear. Many readers will be aware that the Fireworks Code reminds us to keep pets indoors at times when fireworks are expected to be used in celebration, for example New Year’s Eve. However, with fireworks now regularly being let off for weeks before and after January 1, the people who depend on assistance dogs for freedom and mobility find that they are no longer able to lead an independent life. They are often left housebound, fearing the impact of fireworks on their dog’s health and ability to work.

Assistance Dogs UK – a coalition of the charities Guide Dogs, Canine Partners, Dogs for the Disabled, Hearing Dogs, Support Dogs and Dog Aid – is asking readers to limit any firework celebration to New Year’s Eve, to attend fully-organised displays or alternatively, ensure that fireworks are let off well away from residential areas?

Sadly, some assistance dogs who have been severely affected by the sound of fireworks have to take medication which stops them working for a while. The symptoms are shaking, quivering, nervousness and cowering – a kind of canine ‘shell shock’, so severe that dogs have to be sedated for several days.

In the more severe cases, dogs become so traumatised that they are forced into an early retirement, as they are unable to cope with everyday noises such as train doors slamming or the sound of a car backfiring. Both these scenarios mean the disabled person is left without the help of the dog that has transformed their independence and often become their lifeline.

Limiting fireworks to fully organised displays allows the owner of an assistance dog to plan ahead for the wellbeing of their dog and avoid unnecessary stress to both dog and owner.

Assistance Dogs (UK) is grateful to all the readers who do remember guide dogs and other assistance dogs during the season’s festivities and wishes everyone a safe and peaceful New Year.

Alan Brooks

Chairman, Assistance Dogs UK

Your legacy can make such a difference

I am writing to ask your readers to consider remembering Marie Curie Cancer Care in their wills. Gifts in wills are vital to the charity – they fund one in three Marie Curie nurses like me, who care for terminally ill people in their own homes at the end of their lives.

It may surprise you to discover that you do not need to leave an enormous amount to make a real difference to patients. £20 helps fund an hour of free home nursing care for someone with a terminal illness. You could leave a small one-off cash gift, or a share of your estate to the charity.

A gift in your will is also a tax-efficient way of giving, as the charity will not have to pay any inheritance tax on your donation. To find out more, please visit mariecurie.org.uk/legacies, or call 0800 716 146. Your support will help Marie Curie Nurses reach more patients who wish to spend their final days at home, surrounded by their loved ones.

Meg Scoble

Marie Curie Nurse