Cardiff Local Guide A guide to all Things Cardiff
Most Cardiff taxis are clean(ish)
In reply to Jackie Parry’s letter of Monday September 29 in connection to the cleanliness of taxis within Cardiff and it’s suburbs; I would like to say that the majority of taxi’s in Cardiff are clean(ish) particularly the Private Hire taxis provided by among others Capital Taxis, Dragon Taxis et al.
It is only the Black Taxis, which frequent the town centre, particularly on Friday and Saturday night-times that smell or are unclean – due in part to picking up drunks or people who have too much to drink and require the pre-requisite of a fish and chips supper whilst in the cab!
So clientele, those who do require a taxi, late at night, like I have done many times, due in part to me being confined to a wheelchair, try and pre-order your taxi from one of the afore mentioned firms; because, although the majority of Black Taxi drivers are more than okay, with a firm, at least you have ‘the safety net’ of that particular firm behind you, if you have to protest about a driver’s behaviour OR as mentioned in the cleanliness of their taxi!! Which, I am afraid I’ve had to do on a few occasions, particularly when I ask the driver for any additional help, which I need, being disabled!
On the whole, however, almost all the taxi drivers I have had to use, have been excellent, particularly ones from the aforementioned firms!
It’s a simple case of supply and demand, if you’re not happy with a particular driver/company, either complain to Black Taxi Company or the certain firm that provides you with the certain taxi; but as previously mentioned, despite being in a wheelchair and requiring extra support, the taxis I have ordered/taken, 99% of them are more than willing to assist you in any way you ask.
After all, it is what we need in this wonderful city of ours, a good taxi service to transport people from wonderful venue within our city’s superb landmarks!
Dave Yewlett
Park Lane, Whitchurch, Cardiff
Think about animal welfare this week
You may be surprised to know that more than 900 million animals are farmed for food each year in the UK – that’s about 56 times the number of pet dogs and cats in this country.
Many of these farm animals are kept in conditions which the RSPCA thinks are unacceptable. In fact, the RSPCA has been fighting for farm animals for 190 years. We were founded after witnessing cruelty to cattle at Smithfields meat market.
That is why this week is the RSPCA’s Farm Animal Week (29 September to 5 October), and this year we will be raising awareness of the cramped conditions in which millions of farm animals spend their lives.
But we can’t do this alone!
So please think animal welfare – especially now during Farm Animal Week. For more information on activities in your area and ways you can support the RSPCA’s farm animal week, please go to:www.rspca.org.uk/getinvolved/fundraise/faw
Your support is hugely appreciated.
Dr Julia Wrathall
RSPCA head of farm animal welfare, Wilberforce Way, Southwater
Trust Tories to run the economy
This week’s announcements by the chancellor, George Osborne, show that the Conservatives are the only party which can be trusted to run the economy, to safeguard your pensions, and to restore fairness to the benefits system.
While Ed Milliband couldn’t even bring himself to mention the deficit, let alone explain how a Labour government would deal with it, the Prime Minister and Chancellor have set out a clear agenda for a Conservative majority in May 2015.
Firstly, we would scrap an unfair ‘death tax’ on pension pots which currently affects hundreds of thousands of people in the UK.
We have also announced a clampdown on tax avoidance by major technology firms who are currently able to funnel profits into offshore tax havens.
In addition, benefits have continued to rise faster than wages in recent years. This is neither sustainable or fair. A two year freeze on benefits is a tough but responsible decision, further underlining the Conservative Party’s commitment to keeping the economic recovery on course.
In 2015 Welsh voters will have a clear choice – hand back the economy to the party that wrecked it in the first place, or keep the faith in the team who have set the recovery in motion.
Ultimately, this is the choice we need to make to protect our economic stability and to secure a better future.
Andrew RT Davies,
Leader of the Welsh Conservatives
South Wales Central AM
Well done you Desert Divas
Congratulations to the Desert Divas for their fund-raising night at the Memorial Hall last week, in support of the Tŷ Hapus dementia care centre on Holton Road.
The Desert Divas, who started life from adult education classes in Barry a decade ago, put on an excellent night of entertainment and fun, bringing together middle-eastern dance groups from across Wales and the south-west of England – raising funds for an important local charity and raising awareness of international Alzheimer’s day that took place on Sunday September 21.
As a member of the Vale of Glamorgan’s Health and Social Care committee, I am aware that dementia is often thought of as being an older person’s disease, when, in reality, it can affect people of any age – and the needs of younger people with early onset dementia can be quite different to older people.
That’s why it is important that Barry has a charity and facility like Tŷ Hapus to help individuals and their families deal with the impact of this.
If anybody has any questions about early onset dementia and the charity’s work then they should get in touch with Tŷ Hapus on 01446 738 024 or at www.tyhapus.org.uk
Cllr Ian Johnson
Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, Gladstone Road, Barry
It’s dishonest and fraudulent
The anti smoking campaign is disgracefully dishonest, thoroughly fraudulent and scientifically unsustainable!
Is this a fair description of this pious, well meaning campaign? Unfortunately yes! And they can also be described as the epidemiological equivalent of the fraudulent WMD scare campaign: Utterly untrue!
Why? Because the world famous British Doctor study, which ran for 50 years, repeatedly reported that over 20 years of active smoking does no harm whatsoever (from which it follows that passive smoke will kill you – but not for about 500 years).
No one disputes the findings of this highly respected study yet anti smokers go round scaring people with ludicrous and illogical claims like “second hand smoke kills and (!!) causes lung cancer and heart disease”. Once you’re dead it hardly matters if it also causes bubonic plague surely! Or they make laughable death threats like “two out of three smokers will die”, quite forgetting that gives smokers a pretty fair one in three chance of immortality that is not available to us non smokers!
So let’s take the sanctimonious anti smoking campaigns with a large pinch of another much maligned substance – salt, and leave the poor old persecuted puffers to their harmless pleasures!
David H Lewis (non smoker)
Greenway, Caerphilly
