Billingham FORUM - I watched the "Northern" edition of the Restoration TV programme and was intrigued by the fact that of the three candidate buildings, one was in Sheffield and another in that well-known northern outpost of Cheshire.

The main attribute required of a suitable project appear to be a much loved and used community building whose owners have abandoned or neglected it over the years.

With all this in mind I consider that the Billingham Forum would qualify as a true Northern building for inclusion in the next series of Restoration.

It must be easier to help a living building rather than something abandoned by our ancestors hundreds of years ago. - Martin Birtle, Billingham.

PETER MULLEN

THREE cheers for Peter Mullen and his controversial views. His Tuesday column frequently restores some sanity into an increasingly crazy world and his latest contribution (Echo, Aug 3), opposing radical feminism, is no exception.

We women should rejoice that we are different from men, rather than spend our time trying to strip them of their masculinity. This does not mean that we should be downtrodden slaves with no opinion of our own, but rather that we should support them in their roles, as they should support us.

I find the sight of women fighting in war alongside their male counterparts obscene. When we hear that these female soldiers are mothers with young children at home, I am horrified.

It is my opinion that many of the current problems of teenage drinking, drug taking and crime may be caused by the lack of good male and female role models. As a result, our young people are growing up not knowing who, or what, they are.

Go on rejoicing that you are male, Peter Mullen, while I will continue to thank God that He made me female. - Helen L Brown, Leyburn.

Darlington TOWN CENTRE

THE controversial decision to allow cyclists to use the centre of Darlington when it is pedestrianised could not have become more contentious following the nasty incident in which a lady was knocked over by a cyclist in Northgate.

To reinforce the case for banning cyclists, there has been an inquest into a death caused by a cyclist at which the coroner castigated the police for failing to enforce the law forbidding cycling on pavements.

The pro-cyclist lobby will say, predictably, that most cyclists are responsible and thoughtful. Possibly, but as with all these behavioural activities, a sizeable minority do not exercise proper care.

The use of pavements by cyclists is universal, although illegal, and I equate this with all the other things the Government lists as anti-social behaviour and it should be dealt with accordingly.

Life is made difficult for the old and disabled who cannot move as quickly as cyclists appear to expect them to.

Similar thoughtlessness is displayed by skateboarders who don't like having their "'sport" interrupted by those on foot.

If we are supposed to walk as much as possible for health reasons, we are surely entitled to complete safety in areas set aside for us to do so. - RK Bradley, Darlington.

POLITICS

VE WOOD writes wisely of the UK Independence Party's desire to "remould the UK on the American neo-conservative model" (HAS, Jul 28).

Who are the real monetary backers of UKIP and where do their main business interests lie? The UKIP MEPs affect to despise the European Parliament, but they seem not to have renounced the lush salaries and expenses which they get from it, at the cost of all of the EU's taxpayers.

The US of 2004 has become an aggressive and menacing parody of the liberating US of 1945; I am ashamed every time that a UK Prime Minister compromises the UK by acting as a dumb waiter to the likes of Donald Rumsfeld and George W Bush.

Perhaps we need an "Out from Under" party (OFUP) to promote the best of this country as against the US's excesses, whether in business, the English language, the media, or militarism. - E Turnbull, Gosforth.

IT is perhaps tiresomely predictable to read about the present scramble to gain the Labour Party's nomination as candidate for the Hartlepool by-election.

Even a complete outsider, such as I, can deduce that any Parliamentary member sitting for Labour anywhere in the North-East enjoys greater security of job tenure than even the Poet Laureate.

Meanwhile, I myself am hoping to engage the services of a necromancer, who will bring back to life Lt Cdr Kerans, steaming in to Hartlepool Bay on HMS Amethyst, to give the local one-party-state a jolly good broadside! - David Sparks, Hartlepool.

UNITED STATES

FOR anyone who cares to dig deep enough into the news coming out of America, they will uncover a dangerous move to institutionalised censorship.

Inspired by President Bush's right wing administration, the fanatical so-called "Christian" right is pervading into the arts and the media in an unprecedented attack on moderate liberal opinion.

Newspapers, TV news, education, arts and all media activities are being subjected to a sinister pressure to "toe the line" espoused by the right wing "Christian" fundamentalists.

Of course those opposed to this tyranny are not thrown in jail, but many lose their jobs or are denied promotion at work.

Educationalists are told to promote "American values", whatever they may be.

What I read and hear now from America is a long, long way from the time I spent there in the early 60s.

The saying goes that what happens in America sooner or later happens here.

Heaven help us if we ever have to live in a society dominated by right wing so-called "Christian" fundamentalists. - Hugh Pender, Darlington.

CANCER RELIEF

INVITE your friends and colleagues round for a coffee on September 24 and join the 1.5 million people expected to take part in the World's Biggest Coffee Morning for Macmillan Cancer Relief.

To register as a coffee morning host, simply call the hotline (0845 602 1246) or register online at www.macmillan.org.uk/coffee.

I think most of us have been touched by cancer in some way, either personally or through a friend or member of our family. I'm no different. I know first hand the feelings of devastation and hopelessness that a cancer diagnosis brings. Thankfully, I also know the real difference the support provided by Macmillan makes to families who are faced with cancer.

Today and every day, 741 people will be told they have cancer. Right now, Macmillan can't help all the people who need them. That's why I'll be putting the kettle on, raising my cup and taking part in Macmillan's World's Biggest Coffee Morning this year - and am asking if you could too.

Whether you raise £10 or £1,000, every coffee counts and every penny matters. I know just how much fun taking part can be, having been involved in the event myself for the past few years.

Go on - make a coffee and change a life! - Martin Clunes.