IT'S well past time Sunderland Council got its act together regarding licences in the city centre. There are now far too many pubs with too late a licence crammed into one small corner of the city centre.
The council say they want a vibrant nightlife like Newcastle, yet they pursue a policy which is killing off the city centre on a weekend.
The pubs in Newcastle close at a reasonable hour and anyone wishing to continue drinking moves on to a nightclub. They also have a good mix of pubs, clubs and restaurants around the city.
Sunderland Council also has the nerve to charge nightclubs for their licences and then don't give them any special considerations.
The council should stop issuing new licences in the Park Lane/Holmeside area and encourage more licensed premises in Fawcett Street and High Street West.
Pubs like the Glass Spider, Pure, Chase etc should have their licences cut back to 1am at the latest. If they want a later licence then they should have to pay the £15,000 a year for a nightclub licence and have a door charge.
If the council used some common sense then we wouldn't be in this situation and there wouldn't be the need to close the city centre to traffic on a night.
Lance Crane,
Roker,
Sunderland

Allotment pleasure
I WOULD like to add my views to the two letters in the Echo, one written by Mr Reed and the other by Mr Bohill.
As an allotment holder myself on the site in question, I cannot understand what all the fuss is about. I have no quarrel with the arrangements for paying site fees and water rates.
I thought the reasons for having an allotment – as well as for the produce from it – are lots of other benefits, keeping you fit, stacks of fresh air and the banter with other gardeners. What's the point of having an allotment if you don't get any enjoyment from it? I spend time in my allotment to lower my blood pressure not to raise it.
Satisfied small holder,
Fulwell,
Sunderland

Gurkha disgrace
I HAVE just spent a wonderful Easter weekend surrounded by my family, in the security of my own home. How different it must have been for the Ghurkha veterans, not knowing whether or not they would be allowed to settle in the UK as British Citizens despite putting their lives on the line for the crown.
In September 2004, a petition of 40,000 letters was handed to Downing Street calling on the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, to recognise the debt we owe to the Nepal troops. Four years on we find they are still arguing their case.
A former Ghurkha who now lives in Essex, explained how the crisis in Nepal and his own lack of UK citizenship is forcing him to live without his family, yet we keep undersirables like Learco Chindano. This Italian man will be allowed to stay in Britain despite his 12-year sentence for killing headmaster Philip Lawrence at his school in 1995.
There is something desperately wrong with a country that offers sanctuary to dangerous criminals, while throwing the bureaucratic rulebook at our staunchest friends.
FW Sheils,
Rydal Mount,
Sunderland

Change the law
I SAW the Gurkhas holding a demonstration, fighting for the rights of their countrymen who can't become British citizens who were fighting for this country before 1997.
I was so annoyed to think of these soldiers who gave their lives for this country in so many wars, their gallantry surpassed normal action got them so many Victoria Crosses and innumerable medals for gallantry in the field.
We have hundreds of thousands of immigrants coming in, some thinking and proving we are a soft touch and men who fought for our freedom can't get British citizenship. I put this down as a disgrace to Governments over the years to let this happen.
I am just an ordinary citizen and I'm sure there are many ex-soldiers and mariners out there and up and down the country who have served with them and would gladly put their names to a protest for that law to be changed.
JR Thompson,
Springwell,
Sunderland

Protect the women
WOMEN living here in Sunderland may be physically or sexually abused or subjected to other forms of violence on a daily basis but have nowhere to go and no-one to turn to.
This is the reality that Amnesty International and Southall Black Sisters revealed in its new report.
Because of a piece of Government legislation – called the no recourse to public funds rule – some women have no access to state funds and so can be legitimately turned away from a refuge or not be able to access specialist support.
Many of the women who are victim to this legislation are in the UK perfectly legally. They may be international students, temporary workers or women who are here on spousal visas, amongst others.
It should not matter what visa or status a women in the UK has – any woman living under the jurisdiction of the UK Government has to be protected against violence or any other human rights abuse. This is the government's duty according to international law.
By not providing adequate protection for these women, this duty is not being fulfilled.
Other countries, like the US and Australia, have made it a priority to ensure that women in this category are protected.
Let us hope the UK Government will follow their example and change this legislation soon.
Hana Knotek,
Wearside Amnesty Group,
Beckwith Road,
Sunderland

It was like a scene from a nightmare
I WAS very moved to read your account of the air-raid on Sunderland on May 16, 1943. My father was in the army, leaving his small family – mam my brother aged five and me aged seven years, to the tender mercies of the Luftwaffe!
Like most families who lived in the street surrounding Vaux, we used their cellars as air-raid shelters, so when the raid started we were underground. We could hear the bangs from above, but felt safe in our small room off the main cellars. When the big bang came the place shuddered, the lights went out and bits fell from the ceiling.
When we got out it was like a scene from a nightmare as that part of the town was ablaze. Fire engines were everywhere with flames reflected in water on the road.
We found out next day that we had been directly under the paint works! Incidentally my brother and I went to school on time next day, as usual.
R Gray,
Riversdale Terrace,
Sunderland

Oxbridge figures
IT is encouraging to read that a Labour MP acknowledges the excellence of Durham University with London and Manchester, one of the three great 19th century universities.
What, however, Mrs Hodgson means is anybody's guess when she says "chances get missed by the people that (sic) need them most."
Fewer state-educated students enter Oxbridge under Labour, than did so (as a percentage) almost half a century ago under the Conservatives. That is a fact that Labour's spin cannot obscure.
Plus ca change.
George E Brown,
Sanford Court,
Ashbrooke,
Sunderland

Death Row queue
AMERICA'S most dangerous criminals are sent to death row. In the UK death row has another meaning, the post office queue.
I was standing second in line in a branch in Seaham when an old dear at the counter asked if she could purchase a book of postcodes. The postmistress told her that this book was no longer available, but if she logged on to the Royal Mail website all postcodes could be found.
"I wouldn't know how to turn a computer," on was the reply. Several other OAPS joined in the conversation, much to my dismay, which made the post office resemble a Derby and Joan club as they all agreed that modern technology had advanced too far.
The point is we cannot dwell on the past and some people have got to get a grip with the modern age.
There are classes where you can learn about computers and this would be more informative than watching Emmerdale Farm.
Mick "The Pen" Brown

Village is spoilt
SOUTH Hylton is a very nice village, the shopping centre you cannot miss, as you have to pass it to get to many homes and the riverside. Some of the pubs and shops have made a big effort in tidying the fronts up, but some are a disgrace, especially the takeaways.
A lick of paint and a bit TLC would make the difference to our village.
The riverside we should be proud of, but we have the fly-tippers and the morons who make a mess with bikes and cars chewing the grass up, children do not have many grass or playing areas to go to. This would make a lovely area for schools and parents to bring their children to.
Mrs M Gatenby,
Estuary Way,
Sunderland

AFTER recently moving to East Boldon I am horrified at the amount of dog dirt on pathways and in the park where children are expected to play.
Can someone please tell me why the people of East Boldon can't pick up their dog muck like everywhere else? I've seen plenty of the notices up regarding the penalty for dog fouling but no one is acting on it. It makes the place look like a slum!
Name and address supplied

I WOULD like to thank the local branch of the Variety Club of Great Britain which very generously provided 360 small, individual chocolate eggs for the children in years 1-6 here at Valley Road Community Primary School.
The children really enjoyed the eggs and were very impressed that Mr Jim Cleghorn, a representative from the Variety Club, just turned up at school and gave us the eggs for no apparent reason other than thoughtfulness and generosity. What a great message for children!
On behalf of everyone at Valley Road Community Primary School, I thank you Mr Cleghorn and the Variety Club.
Mrs C Young,
Principal,
Valley Road School,
Sunderland

I WOULD like to thank Patricia Nebbla for painting the photo of my dog who died two years ago. It's like having her with me again. She will never know how happy she made me.
Joan Rolf,
Canon Cockin Street,
Hendon,
Sunderland