30/06/2004

At the end of a football match where the scores are even, the winning team is decided by a penalty shoot-out, and quite often the worst team wins the match.

So why not decide the best team by referees and judges? During the match they will note for both sides the number of corner kicks, the number of shots at goal, the number of fouls, etc, and if the scores are even at the end of the game, then the winner will be announced. So the best team wins instead of allowing a penalty shoot-out where the worst team wins. - E Reynolds, Wheatley Hill.

ROAD SIGN

I REFER to the article (Echo, June 15) about Durham County Council's steel sign.

The county council leader quite incorrectly says that our criticism was activated by our views on local government reorganisation. This was simply not the case - our criticisms were purely on planning grounds, as were those of Hartlepool, Stockton and Sedgefield town councils.

These councils are not involved in the local government review process and it is regrettable that Coun Manton cannot accept points that are genuinely made.

However, with regard to local government, I am sure that the general public would prefer to have local councils who are willing to listen rather than large, remote, sub-regional authorities who find it so difficult to accept the views of others. - Councillor Bob Fleming, Leader of Sedgefield Borough Council.

EUROPE

HAVING heard Robert Kilroy-Silk's vitriolic opinion on the assembly that he has been elected to, can I safely assume that he will decline the lucrative salary that comes with this position? - Alan M Archbold, Sunderland.

BRIGHOUSE & RASTRICK BRASS BAND

FURTHER to your report (Echo, June 22) about the brass band concert at the Gala Theatre, may I say that we went to hear a good brass band concert, not to hear the Floral Dance or marches, as suggested by conductor Ray Farr.

If Mr Farr had the decency to bill the concert as classical, as he called it, (we call it a load of tripe) he would have discovered that no-one is interested in this codswallop.

We apologise to the band for walking out of the theatre. This was not because of their performance, although looking at their faces I think they would have been quite justified in walking out themselves.

I understand that the theatre is running at a loss due to poor attendance. A city councillor has been heard to say, and I quote, 'we shall have to get to the outlying districts and educate the people'. If this is education may I stay blissfully ignorant.

If Mr Farr wants to perform Nordic composers' work why doesn't he go back to his beloved Norway and take his baton with him? - RT Minnis and Bob Heslop, Durham.

AS a very disappointed member of the audience who attended the Gala Theatre to hear the Brighouse & Rastrick Brass Band, I find Mr Farr's comment that people were expecting to hear the Floral Dance very patronising.

There were many people in the audience who may not have had his passion for serious contemporary music but had sufficient knowledge of brass band music to embrace something different had it been incorporated into a programme of broader variety.

This was not the venue to promote a programme devoted entirely to serious contemporary music. The programme may have been clearly stated but the greater part of the audience were not aware of the content until they arrived at the theatre.

I have great respect for Mr Farr and the Brighouse & Rastrick Band but I'm sorry on this occasion they got things very wrong. - Mrs Dorothy Rutherford, Sacriston.

REGIONAL GOVERNMENT

I HAVE a few questions on the proposed elected regional assembly.

Given that the North-East is far outnumbered by populations in other regions is it not misleading to say the North-East will have a stronger voice, but will in fact be at a disadvantage powerwise and therefore have limited claims to already limited funding?

Is competition for funds between regions not going to cause divisions within England as devolution has in the UK?

How can the taxpayer find out the cost to them of the campaign to convince them of the need for a yes vote for an elected assembly in the region? How much did the Electoral Commission consultation on organisation of the councils in the event of an Assembly being accepted cost? - J Heslop, Gainford.

SPEED CAMERAS

IN an article (Echo, June 28) Mick Bennett, of Cleveland Camera Parternership, states that speed cameras in Cleveland, one of the most camera intensive counties in the North-East, cut road deaths.

But television news has announced that Government figures currently show, in fact, that Cleveland has had a 20 per cent increase in fatalities.

Figures in adjoining counties, not so camera intensive, have either remained static or been reduced. Not a convincing statement Mr Bennett?

This seems yet more spin to justify what the public consider to be revenue collectors as opposed to safety measures.

Cleveland Police is reported to have a black hole of some £7m. Could this be a reason? - G Sanderson, Northallerton.

IRAQ

GEORGE Bush and Tony Blair have presented the invasion of Iraq as part of a "War on Terror" and insist they have made the world a safer place. They should not be allowed to get away with these deceptions.

Those of us who opposed the invasion never suggested that nothing should be done about Saddam Hussein.

We said that we should never have helped him to power in the first place, we shouldn't have sold him chemical and biological weapons, and we shouldn't have supported his attack on Iran. After his invasion of Kuwait, we said the cruel sanctions served only to bolster his position throughout the Arab world.

We argued that if the Americans had supported UN efforts to bring justice for the oppressed people of Palestine, they would have undermined support for Saddam by depriving him of his claim to be the champion of the Palestinians.

We said that the almost unanimous condemnation of the September 11 atrocities throughout Muslim world presented a unique opportunity to work with the UN, the Arab League and the Islamic Conference Organisation to destroy al Qaida without bombing Afghanistan and Iraq.

We rejected the claim that the Iraqi regime collaborated with al Qaida, or had anything to do with September 11.

In fact, the invasion strengthened al Qaida and brought it to Iraq, where it was not previously active.

Now we can only cling to the forlorn hope that the partial handover of sovereignty will eventually bring peace for the people of Iraq. - Pete Winstanley, Durham.