Hear All Sides: Weardale Steel

Violet Mason, whose poem, written for Wolsingham Steel Works' centenary and which was printed as part of this feature, was my mother. My father worked there for 40 years as a steam crane driver and, as you can imagine, this amount of years has provided me with many happy memories of the works during its many successful operations.

I feel so proud of my parents, but what is even stranger, this week is the 28th anniversary of my mother's death and it is lovely to see her remembered in this way.

Many thanks to The Northern Echo, Weardale Steel and Mrs Fenwick for preserving this memory. - Shirley Smith, Bishop Auckland.

AUSTRALIA

I WAS saddened and disturbed by Hugh Pender's extreme criticism of the Australian government (HAS, Oct 22) in its efforts to protect its shores and way of life from unwanted and uninvited asylum seekers.

I wonder if Mr Pender has ever been to Australia and met and lived alongside the Australian people.

My wife and I have a daughter, who is a naturalised Australian citizen. In our visits to see her and our two grandchildren over the past few years we have a great reason to be very grateful for the extremely kind welcome we received from all Australians we came into contact with.

On two of our visits I was unfortunate enough to be taken ill. I doubt if the swift and expert attention I was given by the Australian medical people could have been bettered anywhere in the world.

I would say to Mr Pender, and others who write in a similar vein, that the terrorists have declared a relentless war on the Western world and our free way of life.

If the terrorists were to win, then Mr Pender and the others will not even have a free newspaper in which to express their bleeding heart claptrap.

Finally, I would like to tell him that whatever clever trendy lefty utterances he comes up with, he and others like him will never crush the spirit of the Australian people in a million years. - Alan Day, Bishop Auckland.

MIDDLE EAST

THE rights and wrongs of the creation of Israel have much to do with the history of a people persecuted through many centuries. Muslim invaders were some of those persecutors.

The UN in 1947 decided a new state of Israel was to be recognised against the wishes of the Muslim world and the Arabs in particular. The Arabs have been trying to destroy Israel ever since. The Palestinians are the excuse they need.

While the Israelis need to understand that they must be prepared to compromise because they may not be able to rely on the might of America forever, the Palestinians for their part should rid themselves of these extremist groups who are using the Palestinian people to fuel the fires of hatred. - John Young, Crook.

SHOOTING

SIMON Clarke of the British Association for Shooting and Conservation (HAS, Oct 23) refers to the Animal Aid report as containing "unsubstantiated allegations" and "twisted half-truths".

He also challenges us to produce our evidence.

If Mr Clarke had watched BBC2's Countryfile on October 20 he would have seen samples of the evidence obtained by Animal Aid. This showed pheasants being reared in cramped conditions, and fitted with painful restraints or 'debeaked' to prevent the feather-plucking that often results from the stress of these conditions.

The Game Conservancy Trust's own guidelines actually recommend these mutilations.

Regarding the issue of 'positive benefits to the countryside', supposedly provided by shooting. How can Mr Clarke explain the nearly five million birds and mammals who are mercilessly killed by shooters, in predatory control programmes?

I fail to see how shooting is 'invaluable to the British economy'. - Becky Lilly Campaigns Officer, Animal Aid.

LOTTERY FUNDS

ALTHOUGH I am sure your readers will have heard of the Lottery-funded Gateshead Millennium Bridge, I wonder if they are aware how smaller Lottery grants are having a huge impact upon local people and their communities?

Although the Millennium celebrations may be over, the legacy of Millennium Commission Lottery funding continues through the Millennium Award Scheme, a unique programme of small Lottery grants that gives individual people the opportunity, funding and support they need to put ideas for community projects into action.

And it's not too late to apply for one of these awards; funding is still available to people of all backgrounds and abilities through the You and Your Community Millennium Award Scheme.

So far, the Millennium Award Scheme has invested over £3.5m in the North-East of England through supporting projects that have included mothers tackling drug issues in schools, restaurant guides reviewing wheelchair accessibility, newsletters for agoraphobics, older people recording their life histories, self-help groups for people affected by cancer, and classes on parenting skills.

The possibilities are endless because there is no typical award project or award winner. I urge people not to miss out on the chance to be their own Lottery winner.

For information and advice on how to apply people can call the freephone number 0800 06801 2000 or visit www.starpeople.org.uk - Earl of Dalkeith, Millennium Commissioner.