Your letters to the Herts Ad...

Have your say and write to hertsad@archant.co.uk (Image: Pixtural)

For the past couple of years I have watched the building work at the old Town Hall and wondered how this rather drab and unloved building could become a modern museum and showpiece for St Albans.

I became a museum volunteer and recently have been able to see for myself just what has been achieved it is a truly amazing transformation.

In place if an outdated, unloved town hall we now have a bright interesting museum with a state of the art gallery and well displayed collections from the old museum.

Modern work from artists in residence sit easily alongside the more permanent exhibits complimented by a modern bright shop and café.

As a long time resident I would like to thank the councillors for agreeing to the development, the architects for the clean and interesting design and the builders for all their hard work especially in creating the downstairs gallery.

My immense thanks must go to the wonderful museum staff who have worked tirelessly to create the displays, install the exhibits and bring the whole museum to life, without their dedication and hard work the museum would never have opened on time and with such clever displays.My thanks again to all those involved especially the staff, although I loved the old museum at last we have one worthy of our city. MICHAEL SHAW

St Albans

Can I ask that we all show each other more respect on our roads.

On Wednesday May 30 our family were part of a family cortège for our mother’s funeral. We’d been advised by the funeral director to stay close, headlights on and hazard lights on the last car.

As we approached the roundabout by The Rats Castle, Hatfield Road, most drivers showed respect and allowed us to stay together, one lady in a Fiat 500 obviously felt differently and mounted the pavement, almost hitting us and hurled abuse and made abusive gestures through her window as to why were we driving so slowly.

Unfortunately this wasn’t the only idiot we met on our travels! But to the people who slowed down as they passed us I’d like to say ‘thank you’ we really appreciated it.

Let’s all try and be kinder to other road users because it could all be our last journey we make!

JULIE HAYWARD Cape Road, St Albans

Today St Albans opens a £7.75m new museum about St Albans’ illustrious past, not its future.

If HCC and SADC keep investing in the past, then the city will become a relic.

No doubt it should feature a section on very recent history where retail is now in serious collapse and fewer [vintage] buses are now fit for this museum due to a lack of new investment.

There should also be a display on the dire St Albans housing crisis, as migrants now live in our field and crime is soaring.

PAUL SPELZINI Potters Bar and St Albans Transport User Group

In your editorial (June 7) and in Anne Main’s comments in the same edition about Network Rail’s “vague timetable promises around the mooted rail freight terminal”, you both highlight the importance of having a joined-up view rather than looking at issues in isolation.

The same operators that have been unable to manage a timetable change (and some would say even to operate a railway network and franchise) would, if the SRFI were to proceed be required to ensure that a huge increase in freight trains could be fitted into whatever timetable is by then available for passenger trains.

I hope that you will both go one step further by adding into the equation the third issue: as Luton Airport proceeds with its massive expansion, so the same rail tracks will be needed to bring millions more airport-users in both directions at all times of the day.

The motorway and local roads already being full, rail will be the only choice for many as well as the environmentally preferred option.

The airport is anticipating this with its own improvements to the Parkway station.

And so the same tracks and the same operators (currently Network Rail and GTR) will have not two but three major issues to accommodate.

As we have seen in recent weeks, just one issue has been enough to demonstrate their incompetence. Three will be way beyond them.

NAME AND ADDRESS SUPPLIED

I read with interest the letter comparing St Albans with Luton and Dunstable hospital

Having been discharge from St Albans hospital in the same week felt I had to respond.

I have a history of cancer dating back to 1988 when I was first diagnosed with non Hodgkins lymphoma. This had been in remission for almost 15 years when it returned with a maligmant maloma on my chin in 2014.

At the end of 2016 I was diagnosed with Polycythaemia Vera, a severe blood disorder that affects less than 20 people in 1,000,000.

All my treatment for these disorders was provided by the West Herts Health Trust.

Always and I mean always I am treated with the utmost care integrity and outstanding medical care.

Often I have three/four clinical appointments a month so I really am in a position to judge.

It’s not about the perceived environment from a casual observer but the health care provided.

It might be dramatic to say on more than one occasion I owe them my life but do credit them with saving two fingers on my left hand from amputation.

If you wish to pass comment then do so from real facts and not perceived facts. WHHT please carry on with your outstanding work.

MR P HARDY Taylor Close, St Albans

Is the NHS being sold to Richard Branson?

I must have been asleep for some time as I hadn’t realised that the NHS is being sold off to the highest bidder.

In the last few weeks I was told that the Hertfordshire Neurological Service providing my treatment was ‘out to tender’ and it looked as though they would be bought by Virgin.

On another occasion I had to go to Watford General A&E and while I was lying on a stretcher in the ambulance the paramedic was selling me the services of their company (not Virgin) for private events.

I learnt later that Luton and Dunstable Hospital’s outpatient consultations are being run by Virgin Care and assessments were being done over the phone rather than in person.

I was shocked and raised my concerns with someone in the media with a particular interest in the NHS.

He said that ‘hundreds of contracts’ to provide NHS services had been bought by Virgin, that this auctioning was going to continue under the law as it stands and the results wouldn’t be seen until it was too late to put the NHS back together.

We all need to wake up and see what is happening.

EMILY FOSTER

St Albans

I see Network Rail are still treating the local community and their customers with contempt.

Having seen the response from Network Rail concerning the destruction of the trees at St Albans City Station in last week’s paper, I am wondering what ‘experts’ they are using.

They say “last year 400 trains collided with trees” and so with the help of experts they have developed plans to take on this work that is critical to safety

What complete and absolute condescending nonsense!

These trees were 100ft from the nearest railway line and if their ‘experts’ genuinely think that trees can walk across a car park, over an 8ft fence and across Platform 4 to jump on the railway line then they are mad.

KEITH WEBSTER

Ridgmont Road, St Albans

Over recent weeks the Prime Minister invited a number of senior business leaders to No 10 Downing Street to discuss Brexit, in particular the customs union and so-called Single Market.

All the organisations invited so far appear to be anti-Brexit. As her chief advisers, Ollie Robbins and Gavin Barnwell are strongly anti-Brexit it looks like these are meetings of similar minds.

So how can this possibly help the Prime Minister achieve her objective of giving the country what the voters decided they wanted?

To avoid this situation from developing into yet another Whitehall farce she needs to quickly balance the position by inviting for similar discussions senior business leaders who support Brexit, such as James Dyson and Tim Martin.

Additionally, to get a balanced view on what Brexit should really mean, she should invite senior non-political leaders from the Regions which strongly supported Brexit to explain to her what the people were really voting for.

If she feels she can not speak to the “ordinary people in the street” the answer would be for her to invite Nigel Farage, who had more to do with the success of the Brexit vote than anyone else and also,probably understands how the EU Commission works better than any other British person.

KEN SHUTTLEWORTH

Reynards Way, Bricket Wood