ON Wednesday's letter page (The year in reader's letters by Ken Thorpe), it spoke of the highest contributors to the Press's page but more importantly it spoke of 2,199 different opinions, on hundreds of subjects.

It spoke of hundreds views on subjects relevant to the writers themselves and the Press readership.

Often controversial, sometimes unpopular but without the freedom of the Press who would hold the council and other public bodies to account for their actions?

The letters page is megaphone for a single person to express an opinion to the multitude of Press readers and it's good to see how the majority of writers put their names to their work rather than the cowardly individual's who choose to snipe from behind a pseudonym - cowards.

D M Deamer,

Penleys Grove Street,

Monkgate,

York

...Thank you to Ken Thorpe for his annual Press letters statistics published on 5 January.
Re the ‘top’ five; we’re all men. Mr Thorpe’s report doesn’t attempt to analyse this fact, probably wisely.  What is it saying about the likes of us?  Please don’t answer that.
I wonder what proportion of the 2,199 letters published in the Press last year were from women?  I daren’t even try to guess but I bet the answer speaks volumes, possibly in an unexpected direction for some. I ask myself the question, “Do I like the ‘sound’ of my own sent box?” Again, please don’t answer that.

Time to stop digging, methinks! This is positively my last letter to the Press...for this week.

Derek Reed,

Middlethorpe Drive,

York