07/12/04

I am under Mr Mahdi and I have never met such a loyal consultant, who I find very dedicated to his work and patients. I find it an honour to be treated by him.

I hope this matter can be resolved soon as I am due for my second operation by Mr Mahdi, in whom I have put my trust. - Jill Kenny, Wolsingham.

KEN MANTON

RITA Taylor, chairman of the Sedgefield Constituency Labour Party, says that Durham County Council is unbalanced as far as men and women councillors are concerned (Echo, Dec 1).

Mrs Taylor would make an excellent county councillor, but not at the expense of Councillor Ken Manton who, it is suggested, may be forced out in order that a woman might stand for his Sedgefield seat.

I never bothered about gender. It's a case of the person and whether they are good or not.

When I was Mayor of Sedgefield, Coun Manton was a very good county councillor. He has done much work for Sedgefield and I would ask the people of Sedgefield to remember what he has done in the way of grants for a picnic area etc.

Over my dead body would he be removed so a lady could get on the council. - Margaret Bell, Redmarshall, Stockton.

Darlington FC

AT tomorrow's Darlington versus Mansfield match there are going to be drummers drumming (Echo, Dec 4)!

What next? Pipers piping or ladies dancing?

Don't do it! Remember the game against Wycombe. The constant headache-inducing noise of their drummers and the monotonous chanting of their supporters: "Chairboys Barmy Army, Chairboys Barmy Army."

The game itself was poor, but I would have preferred to suffer in silence.

I agree that there is a need to recreate the old Feethams atmosphere in the new stadium. We all have our parts to play. I am happy to pay my entrance fee and come along and cheer. There will be times, though, when the team has to provide that vital spark to encourage the supporters.

Football fans are fairly simple souls: do something remotely exciting and we will respond

Finally a plea to the DJ. If you want the fans to sing and feel that they have their own song, get rid of When Two Tribes Go To War and Song Two and bring back Ottawan's D-I-S-C-O. This is the classic Darlo song, and long used to echo around the old ground. - Colin Hobson, Morpeth.

THE new Darlington stadium is magnificent. With its modern design and facilities, and 25,000 seating capacity, it is a stadium of which the town can be proud.

But, oh dear, the name!

The Williamson Motors' Stadium sounds, at best, like a third rate racing circuit or, even worse, an auction hall for clapped out bangers.

Compare it to The Stadium of Light, or the Riverside, or (God bless) Feethams.

I appreciate the need for sponsorship and I understand the vanity of sponsors, that they need to remind the general public to whom they are indebted. But wouldn't it be nice, just for once, if corporate pride was swallowed and a new were chosen? A name that was more appropriate, more dramatic. A name more intimidating to visiting teams and a name that was more "roll off the tongue" for media commentators.

Theatre of Dreams has been done and so has Field of Dreams but what about a name reflecting our town's heritage? How about "The Quaker Drome"? - Mike Watson, Darlington.

FOOTBALL

I READ that Craig Bellamy hopes to sell his country mansion for £1.75m (Echo, Nov 29). How times change.

When I was a kid I lived opposite Tim Williamson, Boro and England goalkeeper. He lived in a terraced house on Coatham Road, Redcar.

I used to see him getting his motorbike and sidecar out to go up to Ayresome Park each morning. - RJ Walters, Whitby.

Hartlepool

REGARDING Stephen Allison's letter (HAS, Nov 29) about UKIP's performance in the Hartlepool by-election.

The people of this town were certainly not fooled by the drivel that Mr Allison's party turned out.

UKIP gained 159 votes more than the Tories, ten per cent of the vote - this is hardly credible for a major political party.

I haven't voted Liberal Democrat before, but I will at the next election, and Jody Dunn will be Hartlepool's next MP - not Mr Allison. - J Hughes, Hartlepool.

DARLINGTON

I AM glad to read of the plans to create a vibrant and distinctive town centre costing £6.5m in Darlington, but shops and more shops do not create a vibrant town centre.

Surely it must be possible to include facilities such as a cinema complex and bowling centre. Why do we have to travel to enjoy these pleasures?

There are lots of housing developments in the west of the town and a college complex planned for Haughton Road, but we need leisure facilities too. - P Rees, Darlington.

NATIONAL SERVICE

COULD I ask all the men who live within a five-mile radius of Northallerton who were called up for national service to contact me?

I intend to produce a book of their exploits for deposit in the library headquarters and the Northallerton archive, thus preserving for future generations a record of their service to their country.

A name, address, telephone number and branch of service will suffice in the first instance, after which I will make further contact.

Or if you are a relative of a national serviceman but who has since passed on, please also contact me. - Tony Eaton, 50, Turker Lane, Northallerton DL6 1QA.

POPPY THANKS

IT is with great pleasure that I report on the successful Poppy Appeal collections in the Darlington area. During the two weeks of the appeal the people of Darlington donated a sum in excess of £35,000. This is a real tribute to the generosity of everybody in the area. It has been the best fortnight that the appeal has ever had and the donations will be put to good use by the Royal British Legion. I would also like to publicly record my thanks and appreciation for the sterling work performed by volunteers from the Ex-Service Organisations and the Cadet Forces of the Army and Royal Air Force in achieving such an outstanding result. - Allan Temke, Honorary Poppy Appeal Organiser, Darlington.