Time for a treat with big bake

 

I’M writing to call on readers to get out the aprons, wooden spoons and mixing bowls to help this year’s annual Bake for Heroes campaign.

 

So far, supporters of all ages and all around the UK have cooked up more than £850,000 for Help for Heroes since Bake for Heroes began in 2009. This year we’re hoping to top the £1 million mark.

 

The ingredients for success are simple – supporters simply sign up for a free fundraising pack through H4H to bake cupcakes, sponges, biscuits, flapjacks or whatever tasty treat they fancy, and sell them off to colleagues, family and friends.

 

All money raised goes to H4H supporting wounded, injured and sick personnel, veterans and their loved ones.

 

The Bake for Heroes campaign runs between April 15 and April 30, but supporters can take part whenever it suits them.

 

I’m so proud to be a patron of Help for Heroes. Every time I sit down and talk to our brave men and women, they tell me how much it means to know the public is behind them and their families throughout their recovery.

 

I’m determined to help make sure that this vital support is there whenever it is needed. So please join us, it’s very simple to sign up and bake a difference! You could just get some friends together for a cup of tea, have a laugh and have a chat.

 

Bake sales can be as big or small as you want – it could be a tea and cake event at work or school, a coffee and cake morning at the local community centre, or simply an invitation to friends to come round for a slice of cake and a catch-up in return for a donation.

 

Lorraine Kelly, Help for Heroes

 

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Land mines still a big problem

 

THE dangers of land mines remain – for many around the world – a threat to lives and livelihoods, especially for children.

 

Therefore the news that HRH Prince Harry is taking on the mantle of his mother’s work to clear landmines must be encouraged.

 

This is seen as charitable, humanitarian work.

 

Viewed so differently are such campaigns as those to end the arms trade, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and even Amnesty International, which are all too often classed as political and not acknowledged in the same way.

 

This difference was highlighted recently with the news that cluster bombs, which have the same effects as land mines, were found to have been used in the Yemen.

 

I certainly acknowledge the work Harry is doing in the clearing of land mines.

 

Unfortunately, prime ministers and foreign secretaries continue to peddle the sale of the very weapons which cause so much suffering and lead to an increase of violence and war.

 

Sylvia Boyes, via email

 

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Take a hold of taxi drivers

 

SOMEONE really needs to have a word with Blackburn’s Hackney cab drivers who seem to have taken over the town centre.

 

They park outside the market, along Railway Road and in High Street as well as on their rank at the railway station.

 

But not content with that, they seem to use Railway Road and High Street as their own personal turning circle.

 

It makes it very difficult to cross the road on the pedestrian crossing and they should be stopped immediately before someone is hurt by a car performing an unnatural turn.

 

John Jackson, Blackburn

 

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Don’t dump your dog mess

 

CAN I please appeal, through your newspaper, to all dog owners to take their dog waste home to dispose of?

 

It would seem that a few people are spoiling our pavements and environment by dumping the doggy bags full of faeces just about anywhere they like in Nelson.

 

Why? If you are bothered to pick it up and do the decent thing in the first instance then take the mess home, don’t dump it elsewhere. This habit is disgusting.

 

Lesley Clarke, via email