T BALL (HAS, Oct 2) in no uncertain terms described the 1970s as dreadful – but nothing could be further from the truth!

I recently walked from the dentists in Cockton Hill, Bishop Auckland, to the bottom of the high street and lost count of the number of empty premises once I got past 30, and if they took away the charity shops, betting shops, estate agents, hairdressers and pound shops there would be nothing left!

In the so-called dreadful 1970s, all of these buildings were occupied, and jobs were so plentiful that you could pack in your current job one day and start afresh the next!

Also, every year pay rises were standard unlike today when a pay rise is a miracle. Today, there even jobs you can get that are not worth having due to zero hours contracts and low pay!

I was a lot better off and happier in the 1970s than now in this dreadful abomination of a country in the 21st Century?

BL Corrigan, Tow Law