Madam, - We flew to Cork over the May bank holiday weekend intending to enjoy the European Capital of Culture programme. However, we were horrified and offended by what we found and feel we have fallen for an elaborate hoax:
1. Apart from the Choral Festival, which apparently takes place very year anyway, the only "culture" was the booze culture epitomised by three huge signs over the city: "A Real Head for Culture" - Murphy's beer; "Here's to the Cultural Revolution" - Heineken; "Here's to the Real Capital" - Budweiser.
2. The streets were filthy, littered with rubbish and broken bottles. The Glucksman Gallery, the Crawford Gallery, the museum in Fitzgerald's Park were all closed: apparently it is the custom in this city to close these facilities during public holidays - just when people actually have the time to visit them.
3. There was no artistic or cultural activity whatever on the streets and we discovered that the police actually harass and arrest local artists who show their work without licences which are unobtainable. Incredibly the city passed by-laws making it a criminal offence for artists to display their work - and this is the "European Capital of Culture"?
It is a scandalous charade and squandering of European funding that borders on the criminal. Can the people behind this subterfuge be identified and called to account by the appropriate authorities? - Yours, etc,
BRENDAN NEE, Brighton, England.