Festival fiasco; MARK THOMAS TRUST THE POST.

Byline: MARK THOMAS 

WHAT a week it has been for Liverpool, with the publication of the long-awaited report into the Mathew Street fiasco.

The report has naturally dominated many of our news pages over the past few days, as all those involved have had their say on the conclusions and where we go from here. Debate over its findings is likely to go on until next year's Mathew Street Festival, but you have been pleased with our coverage of the matter, it seems.

G Fellowes, of Mossley Hill, was among those to have contacted us. He writes: "David Bartlett should be commended for such thorough coverage and analysis of the Mathew Street report.

"Let us all hope now that this is over, that we as a city can move forward with the business of showing the world what Liverpool Capital of Culture is really all about. "Thank you also for making the report available online, it was useful to be able to read it all at my leisure."

Elsewhere this week, many of you have been angered by the findings of the inquest into Royal Marine Corporal Ben Nowak.

Mr Nowak, of Speke, was killed last year by insurgents while on duty in Basra and yesterday we published that the coroner at his inquest in Oxford had ruled that his and the other deaths could have been avoided.

Helen Moore, of Waterloo, wrote in to say: "I can't believe we are hearing of another instance where our soldiers have not been given the essential kit and lives have been lost.

"It is bad enough that the troops are fighting a war that most people do not want, but to then not to have the best possible chance of fighting against the enemy-it is just inexcusable."

On November 16, we published a picture in our Looking Back section of the corner of Church Street and Parker Street following bombing in 1940. The photograph brought back memories for GE Bernstead, of Childwall, who wrote to us to tell how his wife was badly injured in the bombing at that time when she was just 14-years-old.

He writes: "She had multiple injuries to her body and feet and they even wanted to take her foot off, but her mother would not allow it. Since then she has had three children, we have been married 61 years, and she is still going strong."

While we are on the subject of Looking Back photographs, in the Daily Post last ' Wednesday (November 14), we r carried a picture of a street ' scene from 1960. The caption which accompanied the picture said it showed Lodge Lane, in Toxteth. As some eagle-eyed readers have pointed out, the street was actually Marsh Lane, in Bootle.

Thorough coverage and analysis of the report - G Fellowes, Mossley Hill