24/10/03

At Schipol Airport, which must be one of the best in the world, buy a rail ticket at the airport station and you can get an instant printout of all your journey details. The trains are clean, fast and punctual to the minute.

In a country which, unlike ours, is not self sufficient in oil, the petrol and diesel costs less. The road network is cone free and not infested with speed cameras.

The supermarket prices are if anything, slightly cheaper than in England, and offer an amazing variety of produce.

On a visit to a caf in a provincial town, looking in bewilderment at the menu in Dutch, the proprietor presented us with one in English. Service with a smile.

The architecture is stunning. Even factories look good and the streets are litter free and clean. And the whole country is English friendly. No doubt a legacy of liberation after the world wars.

EU sceptics beware. There is another world beyond our shores and it's well worth looking into. - P Anderson, Consett.

OF course the Queen will be concerned over the prospect of Tony Blair signing the proposed European constitution on behalf of Britain (Echo, Oct 17).

Far from being a mere tidying up process as claimed by the Prime Minister, the constitution will have far-reaching implications for the sovereignty of our country. For a start, it will be the cause of the Queen having to break the vows she made at her coronation. She swore to uphold and defend the constitution of Britain.

Other nations are not hiding the facts from people, but are telling it how it is, or rather, how it will be if the constitution is agreed to. The leaders of those other countries are doing things correctly, allowing the people to vote on the issue.

The truth is, Tony Blair knows that the majority of people in Britain would vote against the proposed EU constitution, so he refused to allow the nation to decide.

What right has one man, who is supposed to be the servant of the people, to take such a serious step against the wishes of the nation? He is no servant, rather a dictator. If he continues on this dangerous, traitorous course, the British people will surely have the courage and determination to remove the power entrusted to him, which he is so blatantly misusing. - EA Moralee, Billingham.

JACKIE MILBURN

I READ with great interest Nick Morrison's article on Jack Milburn, son of the legendary footballer Jackie Milburn (Echo, Oct 20).

I remember the first time I saw the action photograph featured in the article.

I was a schoolboy at the time, visiting the barber's shop, and, while waiting for my hair to be cut, picked up a copy of the Daily Express.

The paper told, along with the photograph, the story of Jackie Milburn's second goal in the 1951 FA Cup Final at Wembley. It said that Milburn received the ball via a back-heeled pass from inside-forward Ernie Taylor. Milburn hit the ball with his left foot and netted.

It proved, of course, that Jackie Milburn could shoot with either foot and the goal was regarded as one of his greatest ever.

I always remember that visit to the barber shop as a boy. - LD Wilson, Guisborough.

LAW AND ORDER

SO the Labour Party is going to extend the use of Anti-Social Behaviour Orders (ASBO) and introduce ID cards.

After all the bigots of the Daily Mail and the Sun want them, so let's have them, to hell with our centuries-old liberties.

You may think I am one of these woolly jacket liberals, but just think for a minute who they will be used against and who will not be inconvenienced by them.

ASBOs will not be used against the owners of haulage companies who deliberately route their vehicles close to housing estates, risking the lives of children.

They will not be used against businesses involved in home improvements and mortgages who interrupt my tea most nights of the week with their nuisance phone calls.

Some 20 per cent of Britain's homeless have served in the British armed forces but they will be arrested and 'ASBOed'. Heroes yesterday, scroungers today.

Working class teenagers who hang about the streets will be subject to the same treatment, even though the majority are decent kids.

Black and Asian teenagers will regularly be ID-checked even though their grandfathers may well have been born here.

Tony Blair's Labour Party stands not only for the rich and powerful but also the bigoted and the ignorant. - J Gilmore, Bishop Auckland.

I WRITE regarding an ongoing concern for members of the public in the Merrington Lane area of Spennymoor.

Although numerous complaints have been made, nothing substantial seems to be happening regarding the persistent problem of youths and sometimes adults using the "daisy fields" and the surrounding footpaths and bridlepaths for their enjoyment but to the detriment of all others.

This ongoing problem is fast becoming a major nuisance as it seems to be everyday from late afternoon onwards.

These people are causing problems for others trying to use public open space. They tear around at great speed on their motorbikes, with no consideration for toddlers, elderly, infirm or just the average dog walker.

Walkers now wonder where is it safe to walk?

The local bridlepaths, which have recently been upgraded, and will eventually be accepted as cyclepaths, have to comply with EU standards, enabling disabled access, but this does not include motorbike usage.

The problem of cyclists riding illegally on footpaths, which are not designated as cycle tracks, has been on-going, and regularly pedestrians get verbal abuse from cyclists who suggest they should get on the road!

Does the humble pedestrian not count any more? - Coun C Sproat, Spennymoor.

COUNCIL TAX

WITHOUT doubt the council tax is the most unfair and arbitrary method of raising revenue.

Those of lesser means can get some rebate but the real losers are those, usually pensioners on fixed incomes, with modest savings.

Apparently, council employees enjoy end-of-salary pensions. This highly desirable windfall on retirement is being phased out by private companies because financially it is unsustainable.

How is it then that councils can afford this luxury while pensioners struggle to pay the ever increasing burden of council tax?

Council tax should rise annually by no more than the rate of inflation.

It is time people held councils to account for their spending and profligate local authorities should be the subject of "capping" by government.

The ideal solution would be to keep council tax at a fairly low level and introduce a local income tax. After all we get the same service from the council but incomes vary enormously. - H Pender, Darlington.