30/09/05

It is surprising that people should speak of an exit route when the situation in the country is unstable.

Following the removal of Saddam Hussein, the coalition's main objective was to establish democracy in the country and this is a laudable aim.

Britain can take pride in the way its troops are conducting themselves in Iraq.

The Iraqi people have shown that given the chance to cast their votes in free elections they will willingly exercise that right.

The allied forces are doing all that they can to defeat the insurgents and our earnest hope must be that they emerge successful. - LD Wilson, Guisborough.

NHS PRAISE

THE NHS is again at the centre of speculation about its survival and yet the irony is outside of the UK it has its admirers.

We know there have been faults and shortcomings since the NHS was formed nearly 60 years ago.

Successive governments had tinkered, threatened and thwarted investment. Meanwhile, those dedicated to patients carry on an unending task at prioritising treatment and care.

It is important that a Labour Government ensures that the NHS is a power for goodnot only in providing what it is good at but in being given the capacity to build on its success.

However, as a patient in the coronary care unit at the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton, I saw first hand the dedication, commitment and the vigilance of doctors, nurses and support staff. I was an individual and I felt important.

The NHS is built on an ethos of equality. Based on my experience in the Friarage Hospital, every patient was equal and given the dignity, respect and choice they deserved.

Often under pressure, working to time scales but with an overwhelming commitment and energy to the patients, is a formula that the NHS can work to. - Bernie Walsh, Coxhoe, Durham.

BUS ROUTES

RE: the change being made to Darlington town centre and consequent traffic changes, I think it a total waste of money.

Apart from being completely unnecessary, it is causing confusion and chaos to bus passengers.

My friend and I, both pensioners, enjoy a day out now and again to places like Redcar, Barnard Castle and Richmond etc.

On top of our £80 per year bus pass for this pleasure we have to pay £3.30 return.

Travelling was easy. Buses went from West Row and stopped on High Row on return.

Today we had to get the 75 bus from Marks & Spencer and on return stopped at the bottom of Tubwell Row, a long walk to get the 24 bus home.

The whole thing is causing a lot of inconvenience to a great deal of dissatisfied people. - Grace Beer, Darlington.

I WISH to give my view on the latest fiasco to hit Darlington - namely the re-routing of the public transport system. It makes me wonder if the so-called planners have ever travelled on the buses.

To send so many buses down narrow roads like Crown Street and Priestgate is an accident waiting to happen.

My own bus leaves from stand H along with several other buses. This is utter chaos, quite intimidating.

I almost lost my bus because all the people standing around were waiting for other buses and I had to push through to get the 25 when it arrived. Progress? I don't think so.

I also find it difficult to come to terms with the disabled parking situation.

My husband has great trouble walking and cannot manage on his own. I now find I cannot take him to places he once visited with his friends such as the coffee shop or the bank etc.

Three hours in a car park is no good if the person can't walk from there. There is definitely discrimination against disabled people which I thought was now illegal. Progress? I think not. - S Fairweather, Darlington.

THE HENGES

I HAVE been following the debate over the Thornborough Henges with concern and it strikes me that the decision by the planning authority to delay the decision (Echo, Sept 19) and allow Tarmac to carry out further archaeological investigation is fundamentally wrong.

I feel that here we have the opportunity to recognise that the ancient setting of an internationally unique archaeological site is in itself valuable.

Yet all of the emphasis seems to be focused on the subjective value of the archaeology preserved beneath the surface.

Surely the issue here is that an ancient landscape should be preserved wherever possible for the ambience and setting that it offers to a 5,000 year old place of worship.

If the quarrying is allowed to go ahead the henges will become islands set in a lakeland landscape, rather than a place of mystery and atmosphere preserved intact from ages gone by.

We should all object to the planning application. If we do not then the particular little piece of our history set in this landscape will become just profits for a huge multinational business whose directors neither live in this country nor care about its heritage.

The profit from the gravel is the cost of our heritage.

Objecting to the quarrying of Thornborough will preserve our history for our children. - AM Hunt, Marton-Cum-Grafton.

FRIENDS WANTED

I WONDER if there are any people in the Durham area who would be interested in befriending a person who is both deaf and blind.

In the North-East there are many deaf/blind people who are unfortunately living a very empty life simply because they do not have a person to take them out now and again.

If you imagine for a moment having your sight and hearing taken away you will realise that you are facing a very different kind of life. Most of us take for granted the fact that we can see and hear in order to appreciate beauty, gain information, move around safely and get the things we want for ourselves.

For a deaf/blind person all these things have to be done through another person who can act as their eyes and ears. It takes a special kind of person but not special skills since Deaf/blind UK will train its volunteers in all they need in order to work with a deaf/blind person.

If anyone is interested in becoming a recognised Deaf/blind UK volunteer they can contact me on Deaf/blind UK's free phone number: 0800 132320 or alternatively on my mobile: 07957 869860, and I will introduce them to this rewarding and worthwhile work. - Carol Richardson, Volunteers Liaison Worker.