22/04/05

The club really does have some fans it cannot seem to please. It reminds me of the old East Stand at Feethams, when some supporters would shout at certain players, even if we were 3-0 up!

I would just like to remind these bewailing individuals that we have a good chance of promotion this season, and we are certainly in a much better predicament than we were a year ago, thanks to the intervention of David Hodgson and the new owners.

Stop spouting off and get behind the lads as we aim for a higher league and pastures greener. - Christopher Wardell, Darlington.

ROVER BLAME: THE disaster which has caused the demise of Rover has come at an inconvenient time for the Government.

However, let us not forget the downfall of the company was a result of bad management and the lack of new models.

Before the Tories start crowing, let us remember Rover was a private company and the Government, under European legislation, was powerless to help.

To cut a long story short, if anyone is to blame it is the management and the unacceptable face of capitalism gone badly wrong.

So, Mr Howard, let us not hear you pour scorn on the Government for this disaster - it is a classic example of private enterprise which has put millions into the pockets of a few and left no future for the workers. - Hugh Pender, Darlington.

PRAISE PAULA: RATHER than drawing attention to the fact that Paula Radcliffe was caught short during the London Marathon, Sharon Griffiths (Echo, Apr 20) should be applauding the fact that Paula has taken women's running to new levels.

She is running times that few men can equal over the classic distance of 26.2 miles, and ran 22 minutes faster than Joyce Smith did in 1981 and 1982.

You cannot possibly draw a comparison between the two as, over the last 25 years, all sport has become so much more commercialised, as we see from the disgusting fees that are paid to footballers, some of whom should be locked up for the violence they display to each other, both on the field of play and off it.

Get behind such an amazing feat of determination and courage rather than denigrating it.

Paula has trained selflessly and even monastically to reach this level which is more than can be said for some proponents of "the beautiful game" and she deserves everything she earns. But I do wholeheartedly agree with you about Kelly Holmes. - Robin Rutherford, Darlington.

ON the subject of Paula's impromptu stop during the marathon, I wonder if next year the organisers will make sure that toilets are available on the runners' side of the barriers.

In the same vein, will the councillors of Richmond who closed the toilets there realise that this is the sort of thing that happens when conveniences are not convenient? -Yvonne Benn, Burneston, Bedale.

THE article and photograh of Paula were shameful - writing to denigrate our national sports heroine just before St George's day.

I know from experience of two London marathons, one Newcastle marathon, and 23 Great North Runs, that every male competitor will have this problem during races.

We are competitive but I always have bladder pain and queues at portaloos are huge.

This is a charity event. Please support rather denigrate any competitor. - K Ellis, Darlington.

ID CARDS: MOST people carry some type of identity, be it credit cards, driving licence etc, and now the highest senior policeman agrees with politicians that identity cards - which will cost millions of pounds - should be issued. What good will it do?

In the Durham area there have been forged £20 notes in circulation.

Will it be possible to produce identity cards that are harder to forge than £20 notes? - E Reynolds, Wheatley Hill.

ASYLUM SHOCK: I WAS shocked to watch several television interviews where the reporter asked people in a queue seeking asylum in London why they had come to England.

Three out of the three she spoke to said: "Money, house, car".

Those were the only three words they said. Not one said sanctuary, safety or asylum.

Is it any wonder we don't have enough spare funds for our country's basics like more police, hospital services, dentists, prisons etc, when the majority of asylum seekers obviously misinterpret the word asylum for money, house and car. - Ian White, Hurworth.

DEMOCRACY: AS A member of no political party (I prefer democratic freedom to state domination via political parties) I have a straightforward way of deciding who to vote for.

I will only vote for a candidate (of any party) who signs the British Declaration of Independence (www.bdicampaign.org)

The candidates who sign the declaration (there have so far been signatories from Labour, Liberal and Conservative) commit to voting for an Act of Parliament which confirms that our Parliament makes our laws.

You would think this was a very simple, decent thing to do - and yet not one of the major parties of Britain will do it.

But thank goodness even in British politics there are some good people who believe in democracy.

I would forget about political parties and vote for those good candidates who have signed the British Declaration of Independence. - Rodney Atkinson, Stocksfield, Northumberland.

BRAZILIAN ADVENTURE: AS April marks Bowel Cancer Awareness Month, I am writing to let you know about a new fund-raising challenge in support of the Bobby Moore Fund for Cancer Research UK.

The fund was set up after the death of my husband, Bobby, who sadly died from bowel cancer in 1993.

Project Brazil is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to visit rural Brazil and help the community to restore their school. We will also help build a football pitch to encourage the emergence of the next Pele.

You have to be over 18, pay a registration fee and then pledge to raise a minimum of £3,500. No experience is needed, just determination and a sense of adventure.

You can visit www.cancerresearchuk.org/challenges, call 0870 850 8735 or email challenges@cancer.org.uk - Stephanie Moore, MBE.

SPLASHING TIME: HAVE our town planners got it right? Another water feature in the town.

Surely there are enough natural ones when it rains, caused by blocked, silted-up gullies?

Maybe lifebelts positioned at these features would be a better idea. - A Telford, Darlington.