Sir. - I was interested in your news item concerning hooligans who "target" the congregation at Ripon Cathedral.

I do want to acknowledge that the cathedral authorities are in a difficult position. Here they are, representatives of Christ and his church, and yet faced with folks who just don't fit in and who are disturbances. Not unlike Jesus in his time!

However, it reminded me of similar incidents at Bromley parish church in the early 70s. The then vicar of this town centre church, the Rev Philip Goodrich, later Bishop of Worcester, responded to the challenge in an interesting and, dare I say it, Christ-like manner. He went out of his way to talk with the lads (they were mostly young men), invite them in and find out what interested them. He discovered that beneath their apparently disruptive and anti-social behaviour was a deep longing for connection with people who, they presumed, would be willing to help them.

After a while, a motley crew came shyly into church and sat at the back, giggling and laughing, a bit embarrassed. What they really wanted was an activity, praise and interest shown to them, outcasts as they were.

In time, Philip encouraged them to bring along their instruments to play the accompaniment to a folk mass every Sunday evening. So by taking this disruption as a signal of their dissatisfaction with their lives, he encouraged their inclusion rather than the exclusion they habitually experienced.

How about it, Ripon? Can you open up the crypt for a drop-in centre as they do in St Martin's in London and employ experienced youth workers with the expertise to work with these disaffected youngsters? Just an idea.

ANNE CURRIE

Station Cottages,

Richmond.

Lottery folly

Sir, - There is no such thing as a national lottery. There never has been, and thanks to a monumental error of judgement by a hand-full of unelected members of the lottery commission, there never will be.

The lottery at the time of its introduction was handed on a plate to a private profit-making company called Camelot, and we can all remember that the directors thereof just could not wait to get their noses into the trough.

At that time, Sir Richard Branson offered to operate the lottery on a non-profit making basis and was not even allowed to offer his scheme.

The most recent debacle that has permitted Camelot, having originally lost the right to operate the lottery, to re-tender and subsequently regain the lottery monopoly, violates the very purpose of competitive tendering. However, it is just possible that all is not lost. Sir Richard may yet appeal. I hope he does. The government may honour its election pledge to provide a non-personal profit-making national lottery. The ordinary lottery punter, upon whom all depends, may yet see the folly in filling up the trough for the "fat cats" to wallow in, and at least cut down on and preferably, cut out all together, the purchase of Camelot lottery tickets.

Alan Benn

Burneston Village Stores,

Bedale.

Sir, - As is so often the case with those who oppose field sports, your correspondent Jenni Strickland does not handicap herself with knowledge.

She blames the House of Lords for stopping the progress of the anti-hunting bid through parliament. This is quite incorrect as the bill never reached the Lords.

Perhaps she has been mislead by the Prime Minister who frequently makes the same claim, and while it is possible to excuse Jenni Strickland for her error, Mr Blair certainly knows that it is a deliberate lie which he repeats. However, it makes a handy stick with which to beat the Lords and demonstrates solidarity with the more Marxist and vindictive of his supporters.

Mr Blair also knows, and Jenni Strickland should learn, that one of the more important responsibilities of government is to protect the interests of minorities against the arrogance of the majority who, "as any fule kno" make plenty of mistakes and tell ever more lies when in office.

JOHN COVERDALE

The Garth,

Ingelby Greenhow.

Sir, - There is a point at which "the will of the majority" turns into elective dictatorship, and Puritans have been trying to cross it for centuries in the name of such glaring evils as Christmas carols, maypoles, alcohol, sex - and, of course, hunting.

If her parish council wrote to say that although no-one else was affected and in fact knew little about it, nevertheless it disapproved of her playing tennis, so would she please give it up - bearing in mind that there were more of them than there were of her - I assume Jenni Strickland would spot the flaw in her assertion that "the idea of democracy is that the will of the majority prevails". Rather than accept the PC's diktat with "humility," in fact, I hope and trust she would tell it to go and jump in the lake.

We disapprove of what is illegal but ought not to make things illegal just because we disapprove of them.

JAMES LEIGH

Ulwards Lodge,

Thornton Watlass,

Ripon.

Sir, - There are two points raised in J Strickland's letter in today's D&S Times.

Firstly, the last bid to ban fox hunting never, in fact, got as far as the House of Lords. So, even though Tony Blair inadvertently stated three times that it was ticked off by the unelected peers in the House of Lords, it was never debated or voted on in the House of Lords.

Secondly, in the inquiry she refers to it was stated that no good reason could be found for instituting an outright ban on fox hunting.

Like so many of those who wish to see hunting ended J Strickland should get her facts right.

J D TROTTER

East Layton Hall,

Richmond

Land ignorance

Sir, - What an interesting read in the Darlington & Stockton Times Farming Matters on December 22.

More than 40,000 farmers and farm workers have been dogged out of agriculture in Britain during the last 24 months. Interference comes from a considerable number of sources who think they know it all including Brussels, Westminster and an ad-infinitum group of well-financed bodies - RSPB, English Nature, the national parks, planning authorities and plenty of others too!

These bodies haven't a clue about the realities. Some may be well-qualified, but they haven't the first idea about running a business and the difficulties that have to he addressed on a daily basis.

I won't be far off the mark when I say that the plethora of people employed in these non-producing positions now exceeds the people employed on the land.

All of these "authorities" should remember it is from the Guardians of the Countryside that you derive your living. It's time to get off their backs and allow them to get on with their livelihoods without so much interference, before it is too late.

Phillip Holden

Pippingill,

Spennithorne,

Leyburn.