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PRINCE CHARLES

PERHAPS Prince Charles is a little optimistic when he talks of being king. One should never count one's chickens.

There is a similarity here between Edward, Prince of Wales, and Mrs Simpson and Charles, Prince of Wales, and Mrs Parker Bowles. And we all know what happened to Edward.

The palace spin doctors tell us that the Queen may abdicate. This is testing the water to discover the public reaction towards Charles and his mistress. Will people accept an adulterer as king?

Prince Charles does have a choice, it is the crown or Mrs Parker Bowles.

If the Queen was to abdicate in favour of her grandson Prince William, that would be a popular decision. - Tim Elliott, Horden.

PRINCE Charles has stated that if ever he becomes king, he will change the title Defender of the Faith to Defender of Faiths.

He cannot do that since that title does not belong to the king or to the Church of England.

In 1521, Pope X conferred the title Fidei Defensor (Defender of the Faith) upon King Henry VIII as a reward for and in recognition of Henry's attack on Luther's doctrines. Luther had been excommunicated from the church and Henry was defending the Catholic faith against Luther.

Then, in 1533, Henry was himself excommunicated for marrying Anne Boleyn when he was already married to Catherine of Aragon.

This precipitated the Act of Supremacy 1533 when Henry decided to create his own church.

He was now supreme head of the newly-formed Church of England, he would never again be excommunicated.

The Catholic Church of Leo X still exists today and the title in question was given to the Catholic king of 1521.

How can any Anglican monarch claim to be defender of a faith that did not come into being until 1533? - Jason Scott, Easington.

STAYING WARM

DURING this winter's first cold snap, a major daily broadsheet issued the following warnings: to motorists, be careful on icy roads; to gardeners, cover tender plants; to those venturing outdoors, wrap up.

However, there was no advice for the six million or so fuel-poor households in the UK who struggle to keep warm in their own homes when temperatures plunge.

This is despite the fact that, last year in England, there were 23,400 more deaths in winter than in summer; despite the fact that most of those deaths were due to cold-related illnesses brought on or exacerbated by living in cold homes; and despite the fact that fuel poverty experts estimate that are 8,000 excess deaths for every degree that temperatures drop below average in a UK winter.

In ignoring these appalling facts, the national broadsheet also neglected an opportunity to pass on a simple piece of advice that could mean the difference between life and death for thousands: people who can't heat their homes adequately should investigate Warm Front, the Government-backed energy efficiency grant available to eligible households on low income.

Following on from our annual winter awareness campaign, NEA/British Gas Warm Homes Week, we are urging anyone worried about cold homes and high fuel bills to call Warm Front on freephone 0800 952 0600.

For many, it will be the first step to a warmer, healthier winter. - William Gillis, Chief Executive, National Energy Action, Newcastle.

RACE RELATIONS

RAY Mallon's column (Echo, Dec 13), where he says that different cultures are closer, only scratched the surface.

Most of us are aware that the Taliban Muslims in Afghanistan insisted that all men grow beards and that no women were allowed to have a job, so all women doctors, nurses, even nursery school teachers, were sacked.

Other countries also have strict regimes where offices, shops, petrol stations and factories shut down six times a day for prayers and, during the holy month of Ramadan, no one is allowed to eat, drink or even smoke during daylight.

If you are caught drinking a pint of beer you can be put in jail. If a women gets fed up of using public transport where she has to sit at the back of a bus behind a curtain and she tries to drive a car, she could be punished.

This does result in a virtual crime-free society, which this country has never known.

There is one question that racists could answer: "If your nearest and dearest was dying through lack of a transplant organ and the only one available was Muslim, Chinese, Australian, etc, would you refuse it? We are after all of one human race. - E Reynolds, Wheatley Hill.

HOME Secretary David Blunkett is receiving the expected criticism from various quarters following his remarks on race relations (Echo, Dec 10). The main thrust of his message, that people who choose to come and live in Britain should make more effort to fit in with the British identity, should not cause any concern; it is common sense, not racism.

If someone has chosen to leave their own country, for whatever reason, to settle here permanently, they should adopt and conform to the language, laws, customs etc of this country. If living according to the traditions and ways of their native country is so vital to them, then the question must be asked, why did they leave that country to come here?

For the second and third generations born here, they are British and need to become fully part of this society. Making them conform to practices and culture that is different from that of their adopted country breeds racial division, not harmony. It serves no useful purpose.

The crunch question for immigrants who come to settle is: do you want to be British? If so, then please adopt British culture and all it entails. Leave your old ways behind you in the country you have abandoned. - EA Moralee, Billingham.