03/12/04

I am a resident of the Mains Care Home in Redmarshall, and receive the very best care from the wonderful staff here. I have my own self-contained room and never want for anything.

I wish the media would sometimes show the good side of a story and not all the bad. If this letter is printed I hope it will bring some peace of mind to older people who may have to go into a care home. - Mrs Margaret Bell, Stockton.

CHRISTMAS LIGHTS

THAT time of the year, namely Christmas, is almost upon us and it now seems as though, year after year, everybody seems to try to outdo each other in the bad taste stakes in turning their houses into dogs' dinners with as many Christmas illuminations as possible.

While I love this time of the year and could never be accused of being a killjoy, don't these people realise the effects of light pollution? There is also the danger to motorists of either being dazzled by the glare or, worse, taking their eyes off the road to look at these displays and crashing and injuring someone.

I will qualify as a driving instructor in March and I dread the consequences of my pupils having a temporary lapse of concentration and having an accident while going past these silly displays.

It is time that they were banned, as the cost to the people who own them must be horrendous, and each year they get worse as if it is a competition between people with too much time on their hands. - Darran Weston, Darlington.

TURKEYS

BEFORE your readers start planning their Christmas festive feasts, may I ask them to spare a thought for the poor turkey - it probably suffered terribly throughout its short life.

About ten million turkeys are reared every year in the UK just for the Christmas period. The majority of these are factory farmed, kept in large windowless buildings with up to 25,000 birds crammed into each shed.

The birds stand on a floor covered in wood shavings which soon become extremely wet and dirty. The stench of ammonia is strong, and because the wood shavings are never changed, many birds suffer from ulcerated feet. They also suffer from painful hip and leg disorders because they have been bred to be so heavy that their legs cannot support them. One tenth of these birds will die - starving because they cannot fight to get to the food and water. The frustration of being in such barren conditions leads to outbreaks of aggression. It is to minimise this behaviour that the birds are kept in near darkness.

The suffering doesn't end there. Turkey slaughter is not humane. The birds are hung by their feet from a conveyor belt while still fully conscious, and because of the speed of the belt many fail to be adequately stunned before killing, and some even reach the scalding tank alive.

If readers are buying turkey this Christmas (or chicken) I urge them to buy free-range or organic.

There are many farms or shops in this area which can supply these compassionately-reared birds - or ask for one at your local supermarket. - Mrs P Ramsay, East Cowton.

PARKING CHARGES

MY wife and I wish to congratulate Darlington Council on reducing the number of people going swimming at the Dolphin Centre by the imposition of on-street parking charges in the streets nearest this facility. - JA Telford, Darlington.

DARLINGTON TOWN CENTRE

I AGREE with D Hall (HAS, Nov 25). I was born in 1939 so have seen the changes in Darlington over the years.

The High Row was Darlington in those days. No other town in the North could boast such an unusual array of shops set higher than the rest of the town and proudly guarded by the statue of Joseph Pease. Admittedly, the shop fronts are no longer as attractive, but the traditional structure is still there and the model of the George Stephenson train adds to the character, especially now that those horrid pictures underneath it have gone.

The council has no right simply to take matters into its own hands and decide to destroy our town's character without listening to public opinion and holding a meeting where all the people of Darlington can speak and be heard.

Darlington wants to attract tourism. Making Darlington look like any other modern town is not the way.

Tourists want to see the heritage of an old town for themselves. Improve the town if it is deemed necessary, but don't take away its visible Victorian character, please. - Mrs A Kirkpatrick, Darlington.

PUBLIC MONEY

I agree with Coun Chris Foote-Wood (Echo, Nov 29) regarding the overall fact that taxpayers' money should not be wasted, and the continuing saga of Wear Valley's Dominican Republic Councillor is a farce, although I'll reserve judgement until I see the rest of their expense claims.

However, when Coun Foote-Wood starts stating people "don't have the moral right to take taxpayers' money without anything in return", he oversteps the mark by a very large margin.

Coun Foote-Wood is a member of the unelected North-East Assembly. You know, that quango we thought we all voted overwhelmingly against. The assembly has a budget of £2.2m, of which nearly £870,000 comes out of local authority budgets throughout the North-East.

The taxpayers of Bishop Auckland, Wear Valley and the whole of the North-East should be asking Mr Foote-Wood what moral right he has to use taxpayers' money on a project we've clearly no wish to have and was democratically voted against. - Jim Tague, Bishop Auckland Conservatives.

Tees Valley

I AM a Darlingtonian, and proud that my home town has its own vast borough status, and that it is part of the Tees Valley.

People should not forget that boundaries change, and Darlington and Stockton are no longer a part of County Durham.

It excites me that Darlington continues to extend more business ties with our neighbours on Teesside, and not 20 odd miles up the road in Durham.

The Tees Valley is a welcome change, and I am sure that the business partnerships that we have with other towns in the Tees Valley will lead to greater returns for local businesses, with the valley's large towns of Middlesbrough, Darlington and Stockton leading the way. - Christopher Wardell, Darlington.