22/12/03

The same stance was taken by the Culture Department, whose card had "goal" in the centre. Own goal more like.

A choir group down south was told to take their advertisement leaflets down and new legislation will lead to cards displaying nativity scenes being banned in the workplace.

Of the British people, 99.9 per cent welcome all cultures and beliefs. We are a warm and generous nation, the main reason why people from the world over head for our shores.

The faceless bigots who hide in the corridors of Whitehall and town halls continue to search for problems where none currently exists.

Stop making stupid pathetic rules which are offensive to all of Britain's cultures and simply highlight that the bigotry is merely inside your own petty minds.

Are we to believe the zealots will be equally offended when offered their Christmas bonus and hamper?

And yes, my own family were immigrants a couple of generations back. - Jim Tague, Bishop Auckland Conservatives.

TONY Pelton (HAS, Dec 6) stated that the Government had put a ban on Christmas cards in the workplace.

As a Christian, this concerned me so much that I wrote to our local MP, Alan Milburn, asking for an explanation. His reply states that he is not aware of any such ban, and that if there were such a ban he is not sure how it would be enforced. He also expressed an opinion that "the whole point is that Christmas is a Christian festival".

If Coun Pelton has concrete evidence that the Government has issued such a ban, then would he please get in touch with Alan Milburn, who would be happy to investigate the matter. - Doris Hutchman, Darlington.

EDUCATION

THE turkeys have to be fattened by the Christmas deadline. The farmer gives them good food, a field for free ranging and shuts them up at night.

Even so, some get pushed out of the feed trough, some get ill and some are traumatised by the fox. At the appointed date not all the turkeys are at their optimum weight. The farmer has to accept that turkeys do not all grow at the same rate.

In much the same way the Government expects all children to arrive at targeted milestones on a specified date.

However, children are complex and unique individuals and intellectual growth does not happen to order.

It is time to introduce more free-ranging and fewer Government directives into school life.

Instead of making teachers and children jump through the same hoops at the same time, they should be released from the stress of SATs and more appropriate assessment measures should be adopted.

Remember, education is for life - not just for league tables. - Gloriana Morehead, Darlington.

BIG READ

I SEE Sharon Griffiths (Echo, Dec 17) thinks that The Lord of the Rings only won the Big Read because people were voting for the film rather than the book.

Then why was she pushing her favourite book with the help of a photo of Colin Firth?

Anyhow, no way did I vote for The Lord of the Rings on the basis of the hideous corruption the film made of it.

I still cannot believe how debased the Two Towers film was, and dread to think how the Return of the King will turn out. - Richard J Counter, Great Ayton.

EUROPE

AS Bill Morehead states (HAS, Dec 17) the original aims of the EU were commendable.

Churchill, however, envisioned an international body, similar to the United Nations, in which countries co-operated together over matters of mutual benefit to all.

Unfortunately the EU of today is a supranational body. A handful of appointees and civil servants virtually dictate policy. The European Parliament does not debate and is virtually powerless. Bigger countries club together and do deals that can be of harm elsewhere. Meetings of the Commission, Council of Ministers and Council of the Regions, for example, are held in secret so their decisions are completely democratically unaccountable. Only huge multinationals can afford the time and money to effectively lobby. Corruption is rife.

A European grant isn't a kindly present from the EU. It's our own money, spent to their specifications. We are given no say on the thousands of EU laws inflicted upon us, usually by stealth. We owe peace in Europe to Nato.

There is no virtue in remaining subservient to EU power. The future holds no glorious Utopia, more likely bankruptcy, misery and civil unrest. British democracy gave us a just and fair society. We dispense with it at our peril. - Charlotte Bull, UK Independence Party, Darlington.

SADDAM HUSSEIN

I WOULD like to congratulate the great American army on capturing the evil Saddam Hussein.

The world will now be a safer place, with this evil man captured, and in the custody of the United States armed forces.

His brutal ways have now come to an end and I honestly hope that whichever court he stands in, probably that of the new Iraq, that they throw the book at him. If that means the death penalty, then so be it.

Saddam Hussein is a monster, and his ilk have no place in this world. Jailing the brute would be too good for him. - Christopher Wardell, Darlington.

FOIE GRAS

I WISH to highlight the growing trend of restaurants, caterers and top chefs promoting the consumption of foie gras.

This so called "delicacy" is steeped in animal suffering and exploitation. Your readers have the power to change this trend: if there is no demand there will be no supply.

Foie gras is produced by force-feeding ducks and geese to enlarge their livers.The bird is restrained while a metal tube is forced down its throat. Food will then be forced down the tube mechanically. On some farms an elastic band is put around the bird's neck to stop it retching up the food.

The amount of food increases daily until the birds are being force-fed around 6000g (61lbs) a day before slaughter. This is the equivalent of a human being made to eat 12.5kg (28lbs) of spaghetti a day. It has been estimated that 1.8 million children could be fed on the grain used to produce 197.5 tonnes of foie gras in France alone.

I urge all your readers not to frequent an establishment involved in promoting foie gras. Readers can take action by writing a polite letter to the proprietor of establishments selling or promoting foie gras requesting they take cruelty off the menu. Organisations such as Compassion in World Farming can supply literature to support your letters.

Foie gras is an obscene and indulgent practice that inflicts unnecessary suffering on ducks and geese. - P Lightfoot, Northumberland.