EVERY time you go to, or participate in, a theatrical event, or a sporting event (particularly the Olympics), visit a museum, gaze at the constellations in the night sky (whether astronomically or astrologically), you are doing something that has its roots planted in Greek soil.

The same applies to medicine, architecture and philosophy.

Yes, I have been following Joanna Lumley’s “Greek Odyssey” on TV, and yes, I knew about the debt of gratitude that the world in which we live owes the Greeks before that program.

Having watched it, however, I feel a bit ashamed of the ungrateful attitude that many of us have displayed to the founders of most – if not all – that we hold so dear.

Perhaps, given Greece’s current parlous financial state, now is the time for the world to repay the debt.

Geoff West, Newton Aycliffe.