29/09/05

This highly enjoyable gig once again had imaginative programmes and was well organised.

There was a very good attendance and it was great to see people of all ages enjoying some high quality but under exposed music.

One of my many enduring memories will be of the flat capped, frail pensioner, pint in hand, grooving along to the guitar sounds.

The audience were receptive, good humoured and extremely well behaved. This helped to make the festival and I look forward to attending next year's gig. - M Brackstone, Pickering.

CAMILLA'S PICTURE

I MUST agree with the letter (HAS, Sept 23) regarding your photo of Camilla eating. I thought the same as soon as I saw her eating.

There were some nicer photo opportunities throughout a very pleasant day in Richmond. Better photos outside the Town Hall, where young children from Consett waited over an hour.

At the last minute, five big cameramen plonked themselves right in front of the youngsters and possibly didn't even take a photo. I suspect the youngsters could not see the Royal couple.

Let's hope they enjoyed their stay at Earls Orchard. - Joyce Rutter, Richmond.

NOT CUSTOMERS

I HAVE a document recently produced by Durham County Council in which we, the people of County Durham, are referred to as customers.

Now the dictionary definition of a customer is "a person who purchases goods or services from a shop or a business".

Therefore, since Durham County Council is neither a shop nor a business, the use of the term customers to describe the people of the county is totally inappropriate and most unacceptable.

However, it does confirm something which I have suspected for some time, ie the councillors and senior officers have lost the plot with regard to the role of the council.

All services emanating from the council actually belong to us, the people, and we elect councillors as our representatives who, in turn, have administrative staff to provide, run and control those services on our behalf.

All money to pay for such services comes from us, the people, ie national and local taxation. Therefore we are not now and never will be customers of Durham County Council - in fact, they are all our servants since the same taxation pays their salaries, allowances and expenses.

Would anyone from the council care to dispute any of the foregoing? - J Routledge, Witton Gilbert.

REGIONALISATION

THE Echo informs us that an EU-driven conference was to take place in Durham (Echo, Sept 22). I use the word inform as the article was somewhat buried.

However, the article was very revealing in that it showed beyond doubt the very nature of regionalisation - in fact, the very essence that was so ruthlessly suppressed by a craven media given the acres of newsprint and hours of air time given to the referendum on the North-East Assembly in 2004.

We recall the Echo's enthusiastic support for the Yes campaign, faithfully trotting out the required, knowingly deceptive, mantra of Home Rule and A Voice for the Region etc.

It is equally remembered that those opposing the creation of an elected NE Assembly were given distinctly disproportionate less coverage.

Many correspondents endeavoured to ensure that the true nature of the exercise was brought to the attention of the electorate, sadly, but surprisingly, these truths were confined to correspondence columns rather than given the due prominence they deserved:

1. The regionalisation drive was EU driven - a requirement of the Maastricht Treaty of 1992 (Article 198A).

2. In the event of a No vote (which happily came about by a factor of 80/20 per cent) a NE Assembly would still exist, brought into being by the above EU treaty.

Therefore, we are grateful to the Echo for providing confirmation of these fundamentals, the article of September 22 clearly confirms that the unelected NE assembly is answerable to the EU committee for the region. - Dave Pascoe, Press Secretary Hartlepool Branch, UK Independence Party.

TRAFFIC FREE

IT would be to great advantage to Darlington to have a 99 per cent traffic free town centre. Many towns I have visited have already created a bus terminus just off the high street and they work. Gateshead is one to emulate.

Darlington has a site that would be perfect as a bus terminus. Just off the Northgate roundabout on the inner ring road is the north eastern section of Commercial Street car park, with a better access created, and bus stands installed at the area nearest to Northgate.

All buses could then be routed around the inner ring road to terminate in that area, and exit back on to the inner ring road to follow their respective routes, and if there really were a need, a shuttle bus could operate and run via St Augustines Way, Bondgate, Northgate and back to the terminus.

Car parking would be compensated when the upper level of East Street, and the Crown Street car parks are opened.

Taxis could continue to use the present ranks, and disabled vehicles could use all the old bus stop areas in West Row/Tubwell Row etc.

The town centre would then be traffic free for the whole area within the inner ring road, develop its pedestrian/shopping areas and make them a great pleasure to be in, and would attract all the essential visitors to the town. - Bryan Degnan, Darlington.

ALZHEIMERS DAY

IN your article about World Alzheimers Day, a third of the space was taken up with a statement which cannot be proved. It said: "The fact that those with learning difficulties are more likely to develop the disease... "

I don't know from whence your information came, but this seems as useless to me as saying people with brown hair contract cancer. So do those of every other colour.

My husband, a PhD and former vice principal of Darlington College of Technology, died from the disease, as did the Oxford scholar, Iris Murdoch, Ronald Reagan, president of the most powerful nation in the world and many more influential people.

During my husband's illness, for three years I spent part of each day with him and the other residents of the nursing home and observed them closely. Among them were former bank employees, a buyer from a large store and others who had taxing jobs. I'm sure there were others not so intellectual, but by the nature of the illness one cannot tell.

I am in close contact with the Alzheimers Research Trust who co-ordinate research in this country and abroad.

No government money is given to Alzheimers research and yet we are told that, with life expectancy increasing, the number of Alzheimers cases in future will also increase.

It would be good if influential bodies, such as yourselves, could spur on more help to try to find the cause and hopefully a prevention for this terrible disease which can attack anyone and bring such unhappiness to family members who see their loved ones unable to recognise anyone or understand anything said to them. - Jean Williams, Catterick Village.