31/03/04

We have witnessed errors on police, law and order, health service, education, illegal immigration, rail and road services and the gangsters operating in our towns and cities who are making million of pounds in drugs, prostitution and protection and forgery.

Now Tony Blair is about to put us into Europe without any referendum by the people.

Make no mistake, this will happen unless we stand up against him and his Blairite puppets who have not got the guts to stand against him.

And I forecast that Peter Mandelson will land a job as one of the top men in the Brussels gravy train.

I hope that sensible people will not support John Prescott's regional assembly, another white elephant and gravy train for failed politicians. - FG Wealand, Darlington.

FOOTBALL STADIUM

AS a resident of Neasham Road, Darlington, I have to write concerning the parking problems we have on the A66 bypass.

I understand there is a proposal to make this part of the A66 a freeway and that in doing so it will allow our council to go ahead and grant permission for the football stadium to hold car boot sales etc.

While I do understand there is a need to stop parking on a busy road such as the A66, I do have reservations as to where they intend to park all these carts if they hold a car boot sale etc.

At the moment we have a residents' parking scheme, but it is only for match days and will not cover any other functions. Are we now to be plagued with cars parked on our front leaving no room for our relatives and friends who visit?

The majority of residents in this part of our street are retired and elderly and all we ever wanted was a quiet life in a quiet and dignified street on the edge of town with greenbelt land for walking in.

It is bad enough having to be subjected to the noise and traffic on match days without the added problems of parking for other functions.

No one seems to have come up with an answer as to where these cars will be parked, so in this instance I feel I have to say no to the A66 being made a freeway. - Name and address supplied.

DAFFODILS

I WRITE in support of Teresa Sutton's and EA Moralee's complaints (HAS, Mar22&24) concerning the disparaging remarks of Harry Mead about daffodils. These are beautiful flowers which herald the spring and we are noted for them.

I will always remember being in the beautiful city of Venice when an American tourist said to me: "Gee, we loved your daffodils." - Mary Howe, Darlington.

POLITICIANS

VOTERS get poor representation from most MPs and councillors who only seem interested in their own needs. That is why people do not bother to vote for them, it being a waste of time trying to get any help from them. - N Tate, Darlington.

ROYAL MAIL

VERY late mail and stressed-out staff endeavouring to cope with an increased workload - this is a result of changes in mail deliveries which have been introduced post-haste.

Here I am at 11.25am, and I still have not had my post. Under the infinitely superior and more measured system I used to get letters between 7.30 and 8am every day without fail.

No doubt it has found work for young mandarins, but chaos and staff despondency have ensued in no time at all.

This system was introduced in an effort to make deliveries more efficient. Going by the present results the Pony Express was almost as efficient.

Surely the powers that be must realise that combining first and second-class posts is bound to lead to a huge backlog of post.

Let's hope that common sense prevails in the end. Maybe the workers should tell their bosses to work the new system and see how they fare.

Miserably, I would think and they would soon be clamouring for much needed change. - Ken Jackson, Romanby.

EDUCATION

WHY is our country rapidly acquiring Third World status? Why, when we once led the world in engineering and technical skills, do we now largely have to import their products?

Part of the answer is, I think, our current obsession with academic learning. University education, which used to be the so-called privilege of the few, is now thrust upon most young people.

As a result you now have a generation which is clued up about media studies, social studies etc, but does not know the first thing about life or how to cope with it.

You have nurses who, after spending three years at college learning all kinds of theoretical junk, do not know how to make a bed properly or ensure basic patient comfort and safety.

It can't be over-emphasised that, certainly where vocational training is concerned, it is best done in the work place, the way it used to be, supplemented by attendance at night classes.

There are far too many universities in this country. Most need closing down and replacing with the necessary facilities for running industrial apprenticeships. That would be a first step in returning our country to a sense of reality. - T Kelly, Crook.

EUROPE

I BELIEVE Mr Pascoe's grip on reality is beginning to slip (HAS, Mar 29).

There are a few issues around the euro that do have "a real impact" on "real lives" on everybody who lives in the North-East.

Firstly, 750,000 UK businesses trade with Europe. In 2001, UK companies exported £95bn worth of goods to Europe. In 2001, 77.8 per cent of goods exported from the North-East went to EU countries bringing £5.1bn a year to the North-East.

And 142,000 jobs in the North-East depend on exports to the EU.

These figures, however, over time will begin to fall as long as we stay out of the euro. Staying out of the euro will kill a lot of the areas of the North-East and put a lot of people out of work.

That is reality. - Tom Blenkinsop, Middlesbrough.