Cardiff Cycling Campaign
Chester Cycling Campaign
This is one of the most irresponsible pieces of writing I have ever seen. The opening two sentences in juxtaposition present a prime face case for a charge of 'incitement to murder' - 'What’s smug and deserves to be decapitated? A festive custom we could do worse than foster would be stringing piano wire across country lanes to decapitate cyclists'. Nothing that follows mitigates this disturbing diatribe against people exercising their lawful right to cycle on the highway.
Less than two years ago four members of Rhyl Cycling Club; ages ranging over three generations, were killed on a public highway. Messages of sympathy arrived from the four corners of the world - and the world's press reported the personal tragedies involved with appropriate sensitivity .
That Parris believes that such people should be be-headed beggars belief. What price the columnist himself - and the editorial check system that has fallen well short of ensuring the highest standard of responsible journalism?
Parris and THE TIMES Editor must be held to account. If necessary, through due process of law.
Roy Spilsbury CTC Cymru
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Sunday, December 30, 2007 11:32 AM
Subject: RE: THE TIMES Matthew Parrys - Press Complaint
I was genuinely shocked to read this rant from a journalist whom I otherwise respect in many ways.
His mindless remark about piano wire had a particular resonance with me for two reasons
First, during an early Saturday morning jog up the Taff Trail just north of Cardiff I found a length of wire had been deliberately strung across the trail at cyclists' head height during the night - it was obviously designed to seriously injure any cyclists, including the many families and commuters who would have been on the Trail later in the day. It was a well designed and potentially lethal device that took me quite some time to dismantle. Luckily the sort of mindless morons who did it are hardly likely to read the Telegraph, but Parrys is still pandering to such vandalism in his disgraceful piece.
Secondly, I used to live in Germany where my (cycle) route to work took me along a street named after Claus von Stauffenberg - leader of the July 1944 plot against Hilter that almost shortened the war. The Nazis then famously murdered the plotters and hundreds of friends & family members - the most notorious method was by 'stringing them up with piano wire' for a slow, agonising death - the phrase therefore has special connotations in Europe and also to anyone here in Britain (possibly including Parrys) with any knowledge of modern history. I hope the remark was not informed by such connotations - but in Germany it may have resulted in legal action.
I will not deign to comment on the ridiculous statements about litter - anyone with eyesight can see where most litter on cycle routes like the Taff Trail comes from, and its not cyclists!
Denis Murphy
Cardiff
-----Original Message-----
From: Roy Spilsbury [mailto:roy.spilsbury@ctc-cymru.org.uk]
Sent: Sun 12/30/2007 10:58 AM
To: cyclomania; cardiff cardiff cycling campaign; ctc-cymru-committee@yahoogroups.co.uk; CTC-RTR@yahoogroups.com
Subject: THE TIMES Matthew Parrys - Press Complaint
If you don't think the following justifies a complaint to the Press Complaints Commisssion, you are living in a totally different world to me http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/matthew_parris/article3097464.ece
It's as simple as this http://www.pcc.org.uk/complaints/process.html
Roy
CTC RTR Denbighshire/Conwy
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