DEAR SIR,
AS the dust settles on the qualification of Ireland to the 2010 World Cup, with their suggestion to be toity tree (33) entrant, FIFA President, Sepp Blatter instead of taking this opportunity to bring in the much needed radical change in refereeing/decisions with the introduction of video replay/refereeing (as has worked so well in tennis and other sports) he lumbers along with the proposal of two extra refs (makes five) who will still be vulnerable to human error as before be it less so.
What I just do not understand, (as many others with me) is why the powers that be cling onto the ref decides all when in almost every match played/shown on TV, there is a questionable decision, shown clearly on a replay yet a wrong decision can determine the result of a game. Bad for players, bad for viewers, and certainly bad for the sport. Let's get into the twenty-first century.
Yours,
Graham Phillips
DEAR SIR,
SOME would say that the Daily B repetitively headlines the need for Winter Tourism. Sunday's headline Winter slump may force Palma hotel closures is just more of the same. If so my regular rants should be also accepted. Is anyone in the Government listening? Well yes and no. They set up a scheme called Imserso. This was to boost winter tourism by subsidising Pensioners (and that includes us foreign residents) to take hotel breaks in the off season.
Since I retired in 2006 I have put my name forward each year for ANY of their cultural off season breaks without success. This year I applied in September on the first day allowed only to be told everything was already booked. Excellent you would think and a spur to provide more places to fill those thousands of empty beds. No way. Telephone calls are answered by Jobsworth Employees (it would be more than my jobs worth to ... put you through to my boss etc). At least they answer phone calls their managers don't even acknowledge or reply to letters.
Our Hoteliers should remember if I can't get to Madrid or Seville for a winter break then the Madrileños and Sevillanos won't get to Palma either to help make your headline less frequent.
Mike Lillico
Playa de Palma