And so another year has been and gone and the usual letters and articles regarding fireworks issue forth once again and we are still no further forward in having this dreadful celebration banned. I read the letter ‘Lighten up, fireworks are a cracker!' (The Weekend Sun, November 4). Short Fuse from Otumoetai has never had has obviously his daughter had to see her beloved horse bolt in absolute terror into a barbed wire fence and having to look on while her pet is put out of its agony. Or his children have never suffered burns or been hurt, or his property and/or house have not caught fire due to a wayward skyrocket, or his dogs been absolutely petrified the only way to calm them is medication. But perhaps to him these are all minor incidents and it doesn't matter that they are on the increase and the majority of New Zealanders would love to see public displays only. Perhaps one day, as Rogers Rabbits points out, we will have a government in power that will actually listen to the people who pay their wages.

C Barrett, Papamoa Beach.