June 5, 2006

I must say, he has made more than something of his life, even to those who disagree with his letters. The letter also tells us that we never fully know the person behind the pen.

I congratulate him for his wonderful youth, his education and his working years. May he enjoy the rest of his retirement.

I write occasionally when items in the news upset me or cause thought and, while I have had letters from readers thanking me, I have had some not so nice comments - that's life.

I am a little older than Hugh, but at the age of three my father died young from wounds and gas in the First World War. I thus lost a dad, an instructor and a good friend. Thankfully, I had a good mother, grandparents and relatives.

I would like and wish to see a world which turns to peace, together with friendship, kindness, thought for the less fortunate, both young and old, and, may I say, a little more thought for the now old-fashioned Ten Commandments.

If we do not, I fear for the future of the young people of today and the future generations. - Hugh Geddes, Belmont, Durham.

WAR AND TAX ERIC Gendle (HAS, May 29) makes, at first glance, a sensible suggestion for those who oppose animal testing - simply do not buy products which have been subject to animal experiments.

However, if this train of thought is to be taken to its logical conclusion, the countless millions of people who were opposed to the Iraq war should reasonably expect their taxes not to be used to pursue this dreadful event. - Hugh Pender, Darlington.

AGE AND RESPONSIBILITY SO a 14-year-old is not responsible to look after his siblings? (HAS, May 18 and 23).

Before the war you left school at 14 and took a full-time job. At that time, I lived in Middlesbrough and it was a case of out of bed at 6am, pick up my "Tommy Box" and "Can" (the midday meal), set off in the sunshine in summer and in ice and snow in winter to the Transporter Bridge, cross the Tees to Port Clarence and get the bus to Haverton Hill to start work at 7.30am as a rivet catcher in Furness Shipyard.

If you did not get there at 7.30am the gates were locked and you lost a half-hour's pay.

At 5pm you did the reverse trip, so a full-time job for a 14-year-old took more than 12 hours. The pay was 12s 6d - a ten shilling note, which went to the housekeeping, and a half crown, which was "pocket money".

On Saturdays you got the afternoon off so you could get to the football match, which would cost 1s.

Fourteen-year-olds are just as responsible nowadays as they were then, even though times and the systems have changed. - E Reynolds, Wheatley Hill.

FOREIGN CRIMINALS I AM afraid Pete Winstanley (HAS, May 24) is becoming a bit irrational over the issue of foreign criminals, with his talk of torture and xenophobia.

If people coming here from abroad were really at risk of torture in their home countries they would be genuine refugees and entitled to stay here with their families, providing they were not terrorists.

Under regimes that use torture those most at risk of this treatment, or worse, are not ordinary criminals, who tend to fare quite well under such regimes, but political detainees and prisoners of conscience.

Such people have always been welcomed and well-treated by us and, hopefully, they always will be. So Mr Winstanley's charge of xenophobia is entirely without foundation and lowers the tone of the debate. - Tony Kelly, Crook.

LIBERAL DEMOCRATS I FULLY support Sir Menzies (Ming) Campbell as our new leader. Give him a few more months and he will become a polished performer at Prime Minister's Questions. The latter is stage-managed with rigged questions and does not favour the Liberal Democrats, who are restricted to two questions.

I welcome Ming's statement about a tougher stance on crime and immigration.

Could I ask Ming or fellow LibDem MP Alan Beith to ask the following Parliamentary questions: 1. How many regions in England are disadvantaged by the out-of-date Barnett Formula (for regional spending allocations) and by how much?

2. How many manufacturing jobs have been lost in the North-East since 1997?

3. What are our levels of inward investment since 1997 and how do they compare with the previous ten years?

4. What are the career prospects for the younger generation in managerial/skilled/unskilled work in the North-East? What are the salary levels compared to the South-East?

5. What does the Government propose to do about our loss of manufacturing industries to the Far East economies? - Councillor Ben Ord, Liberal Democrat, Spennymoor.

ON THE SLIDE OUR country was once the envy of the world and proud of it. How well it was conducted. Not any more. After all these years in decline the Home Office has not got a clue on immigration. The police authorities cannot agree with themselves. The justice system looks after anyone but the victims.

All you get from people in authority is talk, promises and excuses with little action.

The answer is having the right people doing the jobs they are employed to do - not jobs for the blue-eyed - to be answerable to the public and listen to them about their problems. We pay taxation to be protected and have a better standard of life in retirement, to our problems being solved. If not, these people should be replaced pronto.

We cannot be any worse than we are at the moment. Being unable to help people in need is a disgrace to the people in authority while the villains laugh at the laws dished out. They are proud to have an Asbo. It's just a game to them while people have to suffer with nothing getting done. - N Tate, Darlington.

GURKHA PENSIONS HOW pleased I was to read the letter from Kev McStravick, of Darlington, (HAS, May 27). His very well expressed views are totally mine, too.

The main topic was about the Gurkhas' unfair treatment financially by the British government.

Every soldier should be treated equally in every way and certainly receive the same pay and pension rights.

I have thought and wondered for many years now why the Gurkhas are treated so.

Let us hope that if enough protests are made that conditions will be improved for them. - Margaret Sledge, Darlington.

RESEARCH PLEA I AM currently researching the history of the Ramar Dress factory in Crook for a book I am writing. I am interested in hearing from anyone who has any memories, or who worked at the company's factories in Catterick and Killingworth.

I would also like to hear from anyone who is willing to loan any photographs of any of the Ramar factories. I can be contacted on telephone numbers (01388) 766869 or 07798 748828 or at the address below. - A Atkinson, 5 Blackhall, Fir Tree, Crook, Co Durham.