14/01/06

In the last two years we have lost three major indoor sporting facilities in Darlington (Archer Street, Larchfield Street and the Quaker Centre) and these have not been replaced.

Children, youths and adults would be accommodated in this arena which would be larger than the Feethams pitch, with viewing balconies for spectators.

This would be great for disabled groups and, during the day, primary schools who have very poor or no indoor sporting facilities could use the pitches.

The indoor sporting facilities in Darlington for its 100,000 plus population are appalling (Dolphin Centre apart) and it is up to the people of our great town to persuade the council and Darlington Cricket Club that they have a huge responsibility to continue our sporting heritage and give not only our children but also our adult population indoor facilities to be proud of.

Nothing is more important than the health of our children

The sale of land at Beaumount and Springfield schools will bring in around £7m and this goes a long way to building this superb venue.

The Feethams Indoor Arena - sounds good. Over to you council.

Paul Bielby, Secretary Darlington Primary Schools Football Association

SELF RESPECT

SADLY, Tony Blair's initiative to reintroduce 'respect' into our society is doomed to failure as he is not targeting the major cause of society's malaise: namely, the media, and television in particular.

Nowadays, TV 'comedy' is synonymous with vulgarity, irreverence, tastelessness, foul language, mockery, sexual innuendo and disrespect for others.

In addition to that, no popular music is complete without a video that contains scantily clad women who, along with their male fellow dancers, usually 'tastefully' perform acts simulating acts of an erotic nature in time to music.

Most tabloid newspapers carry pictures of women that would have sent shivers of horror through our grandmothers, whose sense of self-respect and personal dignity would never have permitted them to sink to such depths of degradation.

These scenes are the daily diet of our young people and Mr Blair expects them to respect each other, let alone adults. Don't make me laugh.

Moral standards are at an all time low and this is where the battle should be fought. Sadly, The Northern Echo decided to demonstrate how tabloid it is by printing a photo of two misguided individuals in 'nude' costumes. Let's all have a jolly good laugh.

Why should the younger generation show respect when so many of their elders don't know the meaning of the word?

D Brearley, Middlesbrough.

NO RESPECT

MY son is 17 and, along with his friends, has been physically attacked four times in the last six months.

They are 'skaters'. They stand out because of their big hair, baggy low-slung jeans and oversized sweatshirts. They now don't carry skateboards or go skating because they are targeted by chavs - the track-suited, baseball-capped, Burberry brigade who hunt in packs and who seem to have the run of this town.

They have been set upon in Sainsbury's car park (Grange Road), Somerfield car park (Cockerton), Stanhope Park and Duke Street.

One attack left a 16-year-old hospitalised; reported in your paper.

The latest left my son with a broken nose and a severely bruised cheek (at first thought to be broken), the boy with him was beaten about the head and ribs.

I'm told that I have a Good Samaritan, who intervened to chase the yobs off, to thank for getting my son back in such a reasonable condition. Thank you.

The most depressing aspect of this sorry tale is that he didn't want to involve the police - not out of fear but because "they won't do anything... they haven't before"; too young to be so disillusioned.

I have, however, persuaded him to go to the police - if only to ensure that two violent assaults appear within the Darlington crime statistics.

Name and address supplied.

GOOD LUCK

WHEN I was a boy living at home my parents always took the Daily Express which was then a broadsheet.

On Sundays we took the News of the World and it too, at the time, was published as a broadsheet.

Over the past few weeks I have taken the time to read The Times, The Guardian and The Independent in their compact format and found them to be excellent.

However, I think when The Northern Echo is in tabloid form, I would miss the convenience of being able to read in full the day's main story as presented on the front page.

I believe that being able to read a front page story like that is where the broadsheets score over the tabloids.

But it must be accepted of course that the trend in newspapers today is for them to go compact.

Because of this I wish The Northern Echo every success with its re-launch.

LD Wilson, Guisborough.

WIND FARMS

I HAVE nothing but admiration for Councillor John Pickersgill who resigned over Derwentside District Council's approval for a wind farm at Satley.

At least he realises he's been elected to represent the wishes of the local electorate, unlike the rest of the 'sheep'.

Turbines are not the answer and I think the Government is coming to realise it. If you'll pardon the pun - I think they've got the wind up.

One young lady on the Jeremy Vine programme last year was outraged that so many had been planned for Saddleworth Moor where people loved to walk.

Anybody out there remember Saddleworth Moor? Now we could get a few thousand out there, and I've got no objection to a few outside of 10 Downing Street or Buckingham Palace or even Durham Cathedral.

I just don't want these monsters 500 metres from my back door. To those that love them, let me know and I'll put your name down for one.

May I through your newspaper thank the hundreds of people from Kelloe, Quarrington Hill and Cassop who signed the petition against the Town Kelloe/Trimdon Grange Wind Farm.

N Staff, Town Kelloe.

TRAVELLERS

SO, according to an article (Echo, Jan 9), the latest phase of a £460,000 upgrade to a travellers' site in Darlington could be approved soon.

I'd imagine the amenities block will include showers and a means of doing the weekly wash. Or maybe a community centre.

Whatever, the site seems to be paid for by the council. Does that mean our travelling friends will pay council tax?

My apologies of course, if they already do. Makes you think though. All I can see for the amount I pay is the bin emptied every Tuesday.

So if the council wants to erect a teeny weeny shower block in my back yard, I don't mind at all.

John Reynolds, Darlington.

GETTING TOUGH

WHO is convinced the Government is getting tough on crime?

A drug dealer caught with 83 wraps of heroin along with his business cards advertising his services (Echo Jan 4). This was one month after he was convicted of being in possession of the same life ruining drug.

His punishment: a suspended sentence and 100 hours community service. Judge Guy Whitburn was reported to have said: "We are urged not to imprison young men for offences if they are of a comparatively minor scale." Please ask the judge, how many wraps of this horrific drug constitutes being on a "major scale"?

The judge did point out, to the lad's credit, that he had pleaded guilty. A sensible choice one thinks, especially as he was recorded on film by undercover police officers.

All I can say is, the sooner we get Ray Mallon in as Home Secretary the better.

David Waring, Northallerton.

DOORSTEP COLLECTIONS

I AM fully in agreement with charities' doorstep collections of clothes, books, bric-a-brac etc and am pleased to lend support whenever I can, but is it not time that the various organisations got together regarding where to collect and when?

This week, we at Mowden in Darlington had two bags delivered for two separate charities (both for collection on the same day) and there was another one last week.

Surely it would be in the interests of all, charities and donors, if members of all the relevant organisations could meet periodically and decide on a geographical plan of action so that each one could space out its collections in any one area so as not to duplicate or overlap with another charity and thus maximise the amount collected.

David A Roberts, Darlington.

TONY BANKS

TONY Banks will be mourned by many, but one particular constituency group has lost one of its greatest champions.

In the last decade, Mr Banks worked with People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) many times, and we were always struck by his unswerving and passionate devotion to ending cruelty wherever it occurred. Widely known for his efforts to ban hunting with hounds, Mr Banks was an ethical vegetarian who spoke out for all animals, even the less popular species.

When London Mayor Ken Livingstone introduced an immediate ban on feeding pigeons in Trafalgar Square, Mr Banks marched to the square to voice his opposition; he knew that cutting off their food supply so abruptly would be cruel.

Mr Banks protested the sale of foie gras by Harrods department store, spoke out in the House of Commons about the plight of animals in war-torn Iraq, tabled an Early Day Motion concerning the plight of cattle in India and staunchly opposed the abuse of animals in laboratories.

Recently, he joined PETA in calling on the Queen and the Ministry of Defence to stop using fur from bears killed in Canada to make headpieces for the Guards regiments.

We are privileged to have known and worked with Tony Banks, and we will miss him terribly. The animals he cared so deeply for had no truer friend.

Will Wright, PETA Europe Ltd, London.

SHIRE CAMPAIGN

I WAS perplexed to see the recent 'Save our Shire' campaign picture (Echo, Dec 30).

I assume they are campaigning against the sale of Yorke Square, Richmond, as a car park and this completely baffles me. I have travelled past this car park daily for several years and very few people ever use it.

In fact, I often have difficulty driving through the Green because of all the residents' cars parked on the road whilst the car park remains empty. A misguided campaign if ever I saw one.

Peter Green, Reeth.

MATCH SHAME

NUNEATON Borough's apology to Boro fans is something that could be echoed by almost every football club in this country after every game.

My son badgered me into going to watch the Boro's cup game against Blackburn. Thirty years had elapsed since my last visit to watch the Boro.

For the sum of £20 I was treated to an hysterical, foul-mouthed and demented performance by a 40-ish lunatic behind me.

The game was generally low on fouls and there was no dirty play, but not for him. Torrents of abuse flowed from his lips every time a Boro player was tackled. Every Blackburn free-kick showed referee bias and every Blackburn injury was acting.

Supporters like him have a serious mental disorder and, frighteningly, represent a significant proportion of 'supporters' who would be better off attending anger management classes.

But what I really cannot understand is how and why parents are prepared to expose their young children to these outrageous and dangerous people. The five-year-old boy next to me, in my opinion, was a 'victim of abuse'.

For me, the game was irrelevant.

Football terraces need stewards carrying video cameras to patrol the stands, take film and publicly shame them by inviting their families to see their fathers and granddads as they really are.

D Brearley, Middlesbrough.

STUDENT LOANS

I TOO, just like your correspondent on student loans, thought it was the Government who provided the money and it was loaned tax free.

I was more than surprised, indeed shocked, to read that the funding is provided by a loan company which is quite prepared to charge high interest rates on the repayments, even if the students does not achieve the required £15,000 per annum when they start earning.

Am I to understand then that the statements made by Chancellor Gordon Brown on how well this Government is treating our students with financial help is all codswallop?

Are they really are being thrown into the hands and at the mercy of loan sharks?

Will someone in the education sector please tell me and the public that this is not the case?

R Hughes, Shotton Colliery.

FREE TRAVEL

RE free travel for all pensioners. I and several people I have spoken to were quite happy with half price travel.

We do not want free travel at the expense of others. If Gordon Brown, as an election boost, wants to give us free travel then he should be prepared to fund it.

Someone has to and neither the local council or the bus companies can afford to. So come on Gordon, cough up.

Pat Hall, Bishop Auckland.

WAS CHARLIE THEIR DARLING?

CHARLES Kennedy's drink problem was described as having been one of the worst kept secrets at Westminster.

Many more may have suspected, but the fuller picture was confined to a few hundred or thousand people.

In this it is probably similar to the cases of Edward VIII's liaison with Wallace Simpson, Peter Mandelson's sexual orientation and Princess Diana's various affairs. What is the media's motive for complicity in such cases?

When so many already know, continuing secrecy seems to me to be less an issue of privacy than of elitism.

Edward VIII might well have benefited from a much earlier encounter with public opinion. Charles Kennedy might have begun his treatment a lot sooner and now be facing a better medical and political prognosis.

One wonders if Charles Kennedy's colleagues and press contacts, like George Best's friends, found it appropriate to ply him with drinks.

The prevalence of alcoholism among MPs, and no doubt the media, seems to foster an attitude of understanding and protectiveness.

Their response is that they must band together to protect politicians from the public, not to protect the public from politicians.

It is as well that we understand this about them.

John Riseley, Harrogate.