Hear All Sides

METRIC MARTYRS

IF a picture is worth a thousand words, what story is that of the self-styled metric martyrs with pints in their hands telling? (Echo, Nov 21).

There is, of course, no law to prevent beer being sold in pint glasses. It would be nice if one received a pint of course, rather than liquid, plus foam, for the all-liquid price.

This is not an issue for those few pubs who have pint-to-the-line glasses and top up to ensure drinkers get true measure.

Whenever I've bought fruit and veg from a market stall, the weight supplied has been only approximately the weight requested. There is virtually no way that a pound of bananas will be exactly 16 ounces, no more and no less.

All of which suggests the metric martyrs are more like metric suicides. - Robin Ashby, Gosforth, Newcastle.

PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALLERS

THE majority of Premiership footballers are pampered and overpaid and, if they feel like Robin Hood, robbing the rich to feed the poor, they can start by themselves and their agents putting their hands in their pockets and donating money to the lower leagues.

A lot of genuine fans can't afford to go to see Premiership matches. If an ordinary working man, getting around £200 or so per week, went to a match with his son, it could cost him around £80 for entrance fee, a bite to eat and transport, etc. How can he afford that? It's the same with some TV companies who dominate most of the matches. Some fans can't afford the subscription, so why shouldn't they be able to see their national game on BBC or ITV.

Also, if all fans stayed away from matches for a while it would force Premiership clubs to do something about their entrance fees. - Jimmy Reid, Richmond.

HEALTH CARE

YOUR story 'Elderly patients are trapped in hospital' (Echo, Nov 16) fails to mention another approach to what is essentially a post-war problem, namely the young looking after their parents.

What is needed is a change in attitudes and the provision of suitable accommodation. Local authorities would do well to copy the Dutch model, where granny flats have long been an essential part of their house-building programme. This approach would not mean dependant relatives being locked in for long periods; outside carers would continue to be available.

Where one or both members of the family had, of necessity, to earn a living, the state would pay them a wage or allowance which would cost the taxpayer at lot less than the present outlay. - Jim Swindale, Stockton.

REGIONAL GOVERNMENT

COLIN Anderson's memory is not long enough (HAS, Nov 20). Let me remind him of when Charles Slater was leader of Sunderland Council and he and other delegates travelled to London to plead Sunderland's case and the then Prime Minister, James Callaghan, refused to see them.

What a reward for Labour loyalty! They had to see the Leader of the Opposition, who, of course, was Margaret Thatcher. She did not forget this and ensured that Nissan came our way in the 1980s, thus putting the lie to Coun Anderson's claim that she destroyed manufacturing in this part of the world.

As for a crime-ridden society, you can lay blame for that firmly at the door of failed socialist employment, social and education policies dating from the 1960s. Ordinary people have lived too long with the illusion that Labour represents them: the opposite is the truth.

The more unemployed, the more uneducated, the more unhealthy we are, the better Labour likes it, for that is where their votes lie. - Name and address supplied.

MONARCHY

Lord Dormand's recent attack (Echo, Nov 26) on our system of monarchy leads me to ask if Britain really wants to have the money-orientated razzmatazz of the US presidential elections which, by their very design, could well bring some doubtful characters and similar cronies to have power over all our lives? Five years is a long time, should this happen.

Our system of government and monarchy has served us well over the years and should not be meddled with. - GH Grieveson, Richmond.

CABINET GOVERNMENT

THERE has been some interesting correspondence in the Echo recently. I had quite a laugh at the writer who couldn't understand why the Prime Minister surrounds himself with friends. Personally, I like to be with friends.

Then there was the more sensible correspondent who said that it was far better for the PM to have friends than enemies. You can't argue with that. It was clever of one writer to point out that Margaret Thatcher was forced to appoint enemies to her Cabinet simply because she had no friends. Those Cabinet ministers eventually turfed her out.

In his article (Echo, Nov 21), Harry Mead continues his weekly attack on Tony Blair and enlists the support of Mo Mowlam, who also attacked the Premier in a recent TV programme.

It is not very wise of Harry to join a failed ex-Cabinet minister who now attacks her former colleagues.

On the same TV programme, John Prescott described Mo's comments as daft.

Nevertheless, it is good to read opposing views. We may not agree with them, but everyone is entitled to an opinion, even Harry Mead. - Wilf Bainbridge, Peterlee.