I CAUGHT my bus on the Boulevard in Blackburn recently, and was agreeably surprised.

The place was clean, pleasant and colourful. As for the new statue - my hackles rose when I read about it and its price - but it's beautiful.

Having had my eyes opened to street furniture recently, I really appreciate it. It's no lifeless-model-on-a-plinth statue - it's living.

I had my photograph taken sitting beside Norman Wisdom in the Isle of Man last summer. I'm sure that this statue will become a photographic point as well as a talking point.

BARBARA RIDING, Fairhope Court, Blackburn.

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