Letters

I HAVE read with interest all of the glowing tributes to cricketer Sir Donald Bradman, including Harry Mead's (Echo, Feb 28).

Harry says he could not think of any performer in any other field to whom the phrase "greatest ever" can be applied without the qualifying words arguably or probably.

There is one other cricketer whose dominance, in his own time, was as complete as Don Bradman's. In a less media driven age, WG Grace was the best known man in the last quarter of the 19th Century, eclipsed only by one woman - Queen Victoria.

His dominance, for at least the first 15 years of his career, was astounding. On sub-standard and dangerous pitches he averaged 49 in the whole of the 1870s while the next best figure was a mere 26. On his death, in 1915, Wisden said: "In no branch of sport has anyone enjoyed such an unquestioned supremacy as that of WG Grace... In his great days he stood alone, without a rival... Whatever may be in store for the game of cricket in the future it seems safe to say that such a player will never be seen again."

That could just as easily have been written about Bradman. Just as Grace was the sportsman of the 19th Century, so Bradman was the 20th Century equivalent.

RC Robertson Glasgow, in the 1949 Wisden following Bradman's retirement, summed it up: "For sheer fame, Dr WG Grace and Don Bradman stand apart from all other cricketers - apart, indeed from all other games players." - Dave Atkinson, Darlington.

WILLIAM HAGUE

I would like to express my disagreement with your editorial (Mar 5) regarding William Hague's remarks on England becoming a foreign land.

Many people think exactly the same. We are not all brain-washed clones of left-wing propaganda. Some of us still care for our country and are anxious and concerned for its future.

Hague speaks for many in this country and to try to discredit him and silence people who care for their country is communist ideology flourishing in the West. - Brian Fothergill, Darlington.

WRITTEN in the pages of history are the names of men who have attachments giving an inkling to their characters. Attila the Hun, Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great to name only a few. You can now add to this list Hague the Xenophobe. - Hugh Pender, Darlington.

PETER MULLEN

WHAT on earth is Peter Mullen getting at? (Echo, March 6). No-one predicted Utopia in South Africa, and the fact that there is still much to be done does not make apartheid any less of an abomination, nor does it negate the tremendous achievement of the ANC.

Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe has turned out to be a racist, homophobic thug. This does not make Ian Smith's white supremacist regime any less abhorrent.

Vandalism of the ancient Buddhist statues in Afghanistan has attracted a great deal of international condemnation, more perhaps than the plight of the principal victims of the Taliban - the ordinary Muslim men and women who suffer under Afghanistan's oppressive regime.

Peter writes: "A people that despises its past has no future." I would say that the best hope for the future is that people will look at the past openly and critically. British history includes much to celebrate, but also much to despise - the Crusades and the slave trade for example.

Oh, and speaking of sacriligous vandalism, what happened to England's beautiful monasteries? - Pete Winstanley, Chester-le-Street.

Spennymoor

I AGREE with the letters about Spennymoor town centre (HAS, Feb 3 and 5). I grew up near Spennymoor which was my main shopping centre. In the past the selection of shops and their cleanliness were very attractive and encouraged shoppers. On a recent visit to the town centre, I was shocked by what I saw.

The central car park was strewn with litter and there was dog fouling on pavements, which were also plastered with chewing gum. But worst of all was dereliction of the shops; Rows of them are empty, amidst an atmosphere of decline. - J Woolley, Bishop Auckland.

DARLINGTON COUNCIL

Last year Darlington council clawed back £5 from everyone claiming a bus pass through old age or disability. This year it has decided not to do this, but instead has devised the exquisite torment of having the elderly and disabled queue for a photograph and documentation in lines that few will have ever seen before. Anyone surviving this ordeal deserves free travel, but is more likely to need medical attention.

Perhaps next year the authorities might decide that running the gauntlet is enough. At least it'll get rid of 'em quicker. - DA Bevan, Darlington.

ZETLAND PARK

THANK you for the article about the refurbishment of Zetland Park Methodist Church, Redcar (Echo, Feb 19). The total cost of the work was in excess of £38, 000 of which more than £9,000 was a grant from the Biffaward environmental fund.

We are most grateful for the Biffaward grant, which not only provided a considerable proportion of the total but also encouraged the church to realise its ambitions for the premises. But, despite the impression the article gave, Biffa was not solely responsible for the improvements.

We are also grateful for support of the Methodist Church nationally and locally, and to various agencies including Corus, the BO Davies Trust, the estate of the late Miss CM Hutchinson, the J Brunton Trust, the Rothley Trust, Barclays Bank PLC, and the Redcar Health Action Zone, all of whom provided considerable financial assistance.

However, all these contributions made only half of the cost of the scheme; the remainder is being met from the contributions and fund-raising efforts of the members of the church themselves.

The renovation work was completed last year although the appeal to meet the cost will continue until the end of this year. The church now looks to make full use of its improved premises, and to expand the range of its activities and the service that it can offer to the community, all of which, of course, centre on our worship of God (at 10.45am and 6pm on Sundays). - J.R. Hustler (Minister), Zetland Park Methodist Church, Redcar