Well done to CATS show

WE WOULD like to take this opportunity to express our utter delight and thanks to the Christine Anderson Theatre School (CATS) for putting on another fantastic performance called Stagestruck.
On Sunday evening, our
children took part in a fabulous cabaret evening of song and dance featuring performances from a number of West End shows such as Sister Act and others including Glee alongside original choreography by Vicki-Jo.
Every year, they fail to disappoint and what makes us particularly proud is that everyone works together so well – children as young as three joined adults to take part in the performances which really blew us away, not only us as parents but also the scores of ticket holders.
A number of audience members came up to us at the end of the show saying how sensational it was with a variety of singing, ballet, tap, acro, street dance, musical theatre and jazz during the two hour show at the Benn Hall. One gentleman even told us how refreshing it was to see such a performance on a Sunday evening with so much positivity coming from the performers and the audience, something that he said was particularly welcome during the doom and gloom in the news at the moment.
It is down to the hard work of Christine, choreographer Vicki-Jo and the other dance teachers, costume designers, chaperones and of course the stars of the show, that it was a night we will never forget.
We wanted to share our experiences with you because we are so proud of our children and we know they are too, so a big thank you to the team at CATS for lighting up ours and our children's lives, and doing so throughout the year without even expecting a thank you.
We already can't wait until the next show, CATS' 35th annual show, 'Enigma Wonderland', at Rugby Theatre in December.

From the parents of CATS dancers
Address supplied

Unsung
volunteers

YOUR story of 'unsung volunteers' and the Mayor's invitations for tea and cakes is welcome (RA May 13).
As chairperson of one of the town's many charities I know full well the contribution made to our organisation by our many volunteers and without that support we simply could not offer the help that we do. Those of our members who attended a mayoral 'tea and cakes' function certainly enjoyed the experience and appreciated that their services were recognised.
In our case our volunteers
support the Hospital of St Cross and I take this opportunity to say a big public 'thank you' to all our volunteers whatever their capacity, both for their voluntary work and for their
enormous fund raising efforts. All of that helps to make St. Cross that much better a hospital. I am sure that many other voluntary organisations would echo my comments.
As far as the Friends of St Cross is concerned we are about to publish our annual report for 2009 and copies are freely available on request from our office on (01788) 663754. Our
annual general meeting is on June 7 at 6.15pm and this is open to members of the public; our guest speaker this year will be Mr Sergio Pagliarini, consultant ophthalmologist, who will be talking about the exciting new service opening this summer at St Cross for the treatment of macular degeneration. Your readers are welcome to attend.

Chrysanda Gilbert
Chairperson
Friends of the Hospital of St Cross

Youths have always been trouble!

I HAVE noticed some recent letters regarding yobs attacking a swans' nest near the canal path.
Some years ago, I wrote myself on the very subject. I pointed out then that boys and birds' nests are a fatal combination, at least for the birds! As a child in the 70s, I remember boys I knew going nesting, taking eggs and even killing chicks. George Orwell, in his novel 'Coming Up for Air', describes children being cruel to animals at the turn of the 20th century. It is defineitely not a new phenomenem.
To continue on the subject of yobs, the very day I left my teenage years (far too long ago now!) I felt that kids just a few years younger than myself were behaving far worse than my own generation had ever done. Nowadays, I hear people in their 20s coming out with such statements as 'kids nowadays! Now when I was that age....!'. Once again, some things never seem to change.
If you do come across a group of teenage boys waddling along like penguins with their trousers around their ankles and revealing equally ill-fitting Y-fronts (at least their ugly faces are often hidden by hoodies; one has to be grateful for small mercies!), you can always comfort yourself with the thought that in just a few years time, these very characters will be convinced of their own impeccable past behaviours and fashions, and be terrified of today's toddlers!

Rebecca Culling
Hadfield Close
Clifton

Lib Dem's true colours

LIKE many people who are able to take an interest in politics without being overcome by tribal obsession, I have been aware of and often amused by the Liberal Democrat approach to political campaigning. And, like others, I have sometimes wondered what really lay beneath their claim to be a real and influential force in Britain. And now we know.
If you strip the veneer of radical and progressive politics from the Lib Dem carcase, underneath you will find a solid Tory core.
Of the 9,434 people in Rugby who cast their vote for the Liberal Democrat candidate at the general election, how many of them would have done so if they knew they would, in effect, be expressing support for a Tory government and the renunciation of any hope for meaningful political and electoral reform?

Patrick Joyce
Balcombe Road
Rugby

Fighting for loal issues

I CAMPAIGNED in the election for fairer taxes, a new economy, a fair start for children and a new politics.
I am proud to say that our party will now ensure that our pledge to the people of Rugby can become reality. The thousands of people who voted for me can be assured that Liberal Democrats at both national and local level will continue to stand up for the values upon which I stood for election.
The Liberal Democrats will continue to campaign to support local people here and to carry on campaigning on important local issues such as fire stations, nursery schools and the high speed railway.

Jerry Roodhouse
Leader of Rugby's Liberal Democrat group

Is our footy dying...?

IS LOCAL adult football dying out or just being priced out?
I was recently at the annual sports awards and was very surprised to find out how much money is given out in grants etc by the local council to sport. I thought it was impressive but also disheartening.
It would seem that all the grants issued went to youth clubs, which is good for the young.
But I would like to speak about adult football and the increasing costs in order to play and the effects on the next generation of amateur footballers.
Rugby Town, Admirals and others all run young football teams but not every child who plays for them will become professional footballers or even semi–pros. But they will probably want to carry on playing in some form or other for as long as they can.
The Rugby and District Sunday Football League has been running for many years and provides football for around 800 adults over the age of 16.
They charge a team an annual league fee which has not changed over the last five years, despite running cost increasing all the time. The league have no other funding and the majority of the clubs do not have sponsors to help them with cost.
The average cost of a home game at present, taking into account, pitch, changing rooms, laundry and a referee is about £90. To set a team up with all you need, home and away kit, nets, corner flags, first aid kit, water bottles etc. works out around £1,000 and then you want money for local and county registrations.
There is no such thing as cheap football for anyone.
The league approached the council last year asking that they refrained from increasing their pitch and changing room fees, but they refused and increased them by an average of between 22 and 32.
Over the previous four years they had increased their fees by 60 per cent. This year we will no doubt see another rise.
While the Sunday league and its clubs are doing their best to stay afloat every year and maintain a local football league for adults it would seem that, no it's a fact that our council will give us no support what so ever.
All I ask is that they help by reducing or freezing current prices.
If pitch and changing room prices continue to rise the way they do at present then they will have to take much of the blame for pricing out adult football in the town.
Young people coming through will be limited as to where they can continue their playing careers, because once they have finished youth football it will have become to expensive to play anywhere else.
The council cut and mark the pitches we use twice a year and our clubs give the council around £10,000 to £14,000 a season. Its not a great return for that amount of money.
If the council do nothing to help adult Sunday football now, in ten years there will be none. The Daventry league have made cut backs for next season and one can only wonder why after all these years.
I have been involved with the league since 1986 and will go on being involved and fighting to keep local adult football alive and at a cost everyone can afford.
Mr. S. Taylor
Rugby and District Sunday League