15/01/04

He promised Premiership football. Obviously, this was always an unlikely event but we are now in a worse position than at the time that he took over the club.

Mr Reynolds claimed to have cleared the debt of the football club, yet the club is as massively in debt now as it was then.

He claimed he would build the club a stadium. The supporters never asked for it and, even to this day, he has not yet managed to complete its build.

He has removed all the quality on the pitch and replaced it with self-flushing toilets, automatic taps, expensive carpets and marble floors in areas of the stadium to which everyday fans have no access.

He has bullied, harassed and banned supporters from their club and gradually squeezed all the life out of the club and its supporters.

Far from getting behind the man, the supporters should simply be grateful that there appear to be individuals from the town who care enough about the club to attempt its continued survival, be it as a League club or, given the results of Mr Reynolds' influence, Conference football. - Name and address supplied.

Weardale TASK FORCE

I REFER to the item regarding the Weardale Task Force (Echo, Jan 9).

I am very dismayed that, after two years, not one job has been created and no inward investment given by the Regional Development Agency, One NorthEast.

All it appears to have produced are consultant's reports that only keep consultants in work. Also, John Hamilton went on record to suggest that the Task Force was not set up to create jobs (Look North, Jan 8).

Can I ask, what are you supposed professional people doing to help young people like me? It's high time you people at One NorthEast started to produce the goods. - Paul McCain, Bishop Auckland.

CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

IN Ray Mallon's recent column, he made out a very good case for not restoring the death penalty (Echo, Jan 9).

He rightly said that long-term prisoners are left with nothing to do but regret their actions and the utter futility of their lives.

In the two-part television documentary, Lifer, shown last year, viewers were left in no doubt as to the harshness of prison life.

This is justice seen to be done and gives reassurance to the public. - LD Wilson, Guisborough.

SCHOOL HOLIDAYS

IN the school holiday debate everyone agrees that truanting is not to be encouraged.

The worst type of truanting for schools and pupils is where teachers never know when a child is going to attend and learning is fragmented.

Schools know the persistent truants and work closely with education welfare officers to improve attendance. Planned absence is easier to handle. Fining parents who take their child on holiday in term time is not helpful and it is worth remembering that not all learning takes place only in the classroom.

Much has been said about the increased costs incurred by parents when holidaying at peak times but there is another unexplored effect of using only the six-week summer period when schools are off.

Most working adults either have their holidays allocated on a seniority basis or they negotiate them with employer and colleagues to arrive at a fair basis over a range of dates. If all employees with children at school were to holiday during the same six weeks this could cause disruption to business and public services with too many being on holiday during a short period. It is also complicated by the fact that working couples with different employers need the same weeks together.

Another consideration is those who are allocated term-time holiday and who cannot afford a package. They may wish to take days out with their children or visit relatives. If this is the only extended time that parents can be together in relaxed circumstances, are they to be penalised?

Parents will take their child's education into account but sometimes work or family considerations must take precedence. Government intervention is not needed in these circumstances. - Gloriana Morehead, Darlington.

GREG RUSEDSKI

I FEEL justified in writing to confirm my support for the comments made by David Lloyd in support of Greg Rusedski (pictured below) (Echo, Jan 12).

I personally know in my heart that Greg is 100 per cent innocent of knowingly taking banned substances and feel it is about time for the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) to come forward in Greg's defence and admit they are responsible for this damming situation.

The situation that Greg now finds himself in must be too stressful for words. I admire his courage to continue playing his game to the best of his ability with this unbearable cloud hanging over his head for months.

Greg Rusedski has brought more people to watch tennis in this country with his excellent skill and breathtaking serves. The tennis world would be a poorer place without this enormously talented player.

Come on Northern Echo, give Greg your full support and take the ATP to task. - Doreen Hull, Ferryhill.

MAIL TRAIN

I WOULD appreciate the opportunity to thank everyone who turned up at both Darlington and York stations last Friday night, January 9, to witness the last Travelling Post Office mail train make its journey south and on its return to our base in Willesden North West London.

Myself and all of the staff of the London Section of the North Eastern Travelling Post Office, thank you so much for your genuine welcome. It meant so much to us at a time when we could not have felt lower.

You lifted our spirits at a time when we basically were scraping ourselves off the floor as it were. Many of my workmates were visibly moved by this show of affection to our mail train and way of life that disappeared forever that night.

The sad thing is at the time of the TPO closure, vast amounts of mail were still being sorted on them. - Dave Griffiths, London Section of the North Eastern Travelling Post Office.