Yes, after a long wait we can now see unlimited views of Wakefield. From the delights of lower Kirkgate to the magnificent central focul point of the Bull Ring. Why doesn't the Wakefiled Express have a competition to find the most beautiful views on Streetmap or there again the most unsightly ones?

Well here we are again, yet another brain wave to make Wakefield 'the' place that everyone will want to visit.

What a silly suggestion and one the Council, sorry 'The Cabinet' will surely go for. Can I make the point that in Hollywood the people featured on their walk of fame are world famous celebrities, past and present who need no introduction. 

5,10 or 15 years down the road are people actually going to know who these characters are, featured on the Wakefield walk of fame? Surely some sort of additional plaque will be necessary to outline their fame. No doubt the Cabinet may choose to place the plaques on small wooden rhubarb structures.

Wakefield Council please focus on spending money wisely. Repair the pavements in Wakefield and keep them clean. Don't treat all the Wakefiled ratepayers as nit wits.

Do your job and make Wakefiled the clean, tidy,attractive, upmarket town it was in the 60's. You have lost so much ground to Leeds, Barnsley and Huddersfield you will remain the poor relation!

I know I am seemingly constantly looking to find fault with Wakefield. However here is yet another example of their inability to be able to get things right. How is it that Leeds, Barnsley, Bradford and a number of other towns manage to organise this type of event and come up with something both attractive and with a quality feel. Shame on you Wakefield. Surely the person on the coulcil who plans, organises and monitors these events needs a rocket.

There was a time when I used to look forward to buying a copy of the Wakefield Express, if only to look at the motoring pages.

To be quite honest now, as I flick through the pages there seems to me to be a lack of variety and imagination in those journalists who work for the Express. Week after week we seem  to have to look at  'artist's impressions' of what Wakefield will (hopefully) soon look like. Who are they kidding? In the last two editions we have seen the white elephant soon to be erected in Wood Street and last week the new swimming baths hopefully to be in Sun Lane! I can recall other pieces of imaginative artwork giving us a flavour of what the new entrance to the Ridings will look like and also one of a futuristic Lower Kirkgate, the Hepworth Gallery and the new Shopping Mall development. Oh, I nearly forgot the aerial artist's impression of the new hospital.

Give it a rest 'Express', let's have something a bit more interesting.

p.s whilst you are at it, save the printing costs of that self ingratiating annual publication of famous Yorkshire celebrities many of whom have such a loose connection with Yorkshire they should be left out. What a waste of paper and yet another example of this perochial content the Express seems to love to include.

Having read a couple of articles in the Express about Wakefields new Bull Ring water feature, I thought I would take a detour down Northgate to have another look at it. I have to say having previously seen it being admired and enjoyed on a Saturday lunchtime by a group of drunken young ladies and on another occasion watched as about a dozen youngsters ran full pelt around it, ducking under the arches of water, I did wonder what to expect.

I was not disappointed! To my disbelief I was confronted by two large articulated lorries. One having dropped off a large fairground ride which was being erected, together with a rather untidy structure made from scaffolding poles and covered with  khaki coloured sheeting. I left the Bull Ring area disgusted to think that Wakefield Council agree to having this eyesore in what was supposed to be an attractive feature offering a good visual experience. One again I have to say who is being paid to make these stupid decisions?

I will not be shopping in Wakefield this Christmas or any other time if I can help it. What I cannot work out is why Wakefield Council seem to have no idea of 'taste' , 'quality' and 'culture' and seem to always want to cater for the  lowest common denominator. If they want to raise Wakefield's stature in the eyes of the population then they need to raise their own standards.

p.s there are some intelligent, educated, and culturally sensitive people in the Wakefiled area.

Although I cannot be described as a lover of markets generally. I thought I would go and have a look at the new Wakefield Market building. Yes, that's the one that we had all the fuss about some time ago, it having been specially designed by an architect, after a shortlisting selection had been made. You might also remember the regular appearance of artisitic impressions which we were presented with in the Wakefield Express prior to its construction.

Well to say it was even worse than I had expected is an understatement. What a pokey, disorganised and sad selection of businesses in an uninspiring and depressing building. Why oh why couldn't Wakefield have visited Huddersfield or even Dewsbury to see how markets actually function and what market shoppers want? I would strongly advise anyone to visit Huddersfield and take a look at the indoor market, then catch the free bus from the doors to the other open market building near Tescos. The indoor market is bright, clean and always busy, with a wonderful selection of stalls and businesses. Then take a look at the old outdoor market building recently renovated. This is an example of what market buildings should look like. Full marks to Huddersfield council for renovating it, to its original Victorian beauty.

Wakefield Council, why do you seem to be continually making such huge mistakes in so many areas. I sometimes wonder how you can be so incompetent.