PEOPLE of Radcliffe rejoice! We are about to get some more "stones" - a million pounds worth, in fact (BuryTimes, Oct 22).

No, they are not precious, not diamonds, not emeralds, but "stone stones", inflicted upon us once more courtesy of Bury Council.

Why do they do it? What have they got against us? Surely we have enough with that clump of stones at Outwood. But I suppose we shall have to have them, providing we can find a site for a museum.

Suggestion: how about a Dome, situated, say, on the banks of the Irwell? It could house educational exhibits, like a dormant brain from Bury Town Hall.

Or perhaps it could be sited in Coronation Park. There is a nice children's play area at the lower end, but the rest of the park is too hilly for people to enjoy a leisurely walk. The stones could be hauled to the top, where they could be seen from Holcombe Hill - or even the moon, thereby becoming only the second such man-made object after the Great Wall of China.

What a thrill for us in Radcliffe. What with our bed of nails, it's all getting too much . . .

I have just had a gruesome thought. I wonder if Mr Trehy, Bury's arts officer, is directing his mind towards pickled sheep and unmade beds, or similar. God, I hope not.

BILL OWENS,

Turks Road, Radcliffe.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.