A RECENT correspondent was concerned about the Lambton Worm being depicted with feet on the sides of buses.

Worm (here in the North East often pronounced "warm") is one of the old words for dragon and would certainly have been depicted with legs and feet.

In the wonderful ancient church of St Michael and All Angels in the heart of Houghton, two such "warms" are depicted intertwined and carved in stone above a narrow doorway. These two are Wyverns, as they just have two legs.

Such "warms" are often of Saxon origin and are found in Wessex. Those in St Michael's are the only ones I have seen in the north of England, though there may be more.

The Viking raiders of coastal areas may have contributed to the dragon stories particularly found in the North East and south west of England because of the high carved prows of the ships which sometimes had fearsome beasts' heads. The form and the clinker build of these vessels is still echoed in the cobles of the North East coast.

I like to believe in descriptions of unknown territories on medieval maps. "Here be dragons" they warn – and long may it be so!
S Ellis,
Church Street,
Houghton

See some adventure
BRITAIN has a proud tradition of producing adventurers such as Sir Walter Raleigh, James Cook and Sir Ernest Shackleton. But new research reveals almost half (47 per cent) of the population feel their life lacks adventure.

As 56 per cent of Brits say they have never taken part in an adventurous activity, has the spirit of Shackleton been replaced with a fear of the unknown or is it merely malaise?

I am writing to let Echo readers know about a new photographic exhibition that examines what adventure means to different people and aims to inspire those who would like to be more adventurous.

Portraits of Adventure includes 50 rarely-seen archive images from leading landscape, portrait, action and travel photographers, as well as 10 specially commissioned giant four metre high portraits by top British photographer Alastair Thain featuring adventurous personalities such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Zara Phillips.

The show is one of the many events around the globe celebrating Land Rover's 60th anniversary.

So throw off your inhibitions, come along to the Royal Geographical Society in London before August 3 and be inspired. If you can't make it, look out for the accompanying coffee table book – proceeds from the sale of the book will be used to benefit the British Red Cross.
Sir Ranulph Fiennes,
Greenlands,
Exford,
Somerset

Dealing with knives
ANOTHER firm of consultants is, we learn, to add to the wisdom which is contained in our schools. Delta Training Solutions, a real live-wire

bunch if the name is anything to go by, will "help tackle the issue" of knife-carrying pupils – by running a series of workshops for teachers.

When I read the press release (July 9), I thought a satirist had hijacked some column inches; an impression only partly assuaged by the fact that Mrs Linda Mitchell had contributed.

Mrs Mitchell's tragic qualification to speak about the matter is well known and what she is reported as having said is understood by anyone capable of thought.

Education in its broadest sense, and appropriate legislation, have always been prerequisites of a cohesive society; I assume no one would find Mrs Mitchell's claim exceptionable.

The purpose of the consultancy's workshops, according to Mr Varley (senior training consultant), is to "raise awareness" of new laws and what can be done to prevent violent crime in the classroom; it is, he says, "(to put) the onus on schools to at least take the first step when dealing with potential situations with knives". And his words are quoted as flowing on in similar vacuous vein about "new powers and skills", so much so that he seems obviously a gift to all those whose sinecure it is at the Civic Centre to dally with such groups.

I'd like to think that consultants and their anxieties over what happens in school might be put on one side. I'm fairly sure that theirs is not just a philanthropic concern – there was no mention by Mr Varley of them doing anything pro bono!

And further, that education budgets should not be raided in this way.
In schools there are what is known as senior management teams (unless they've found a new sobriquet since I left teaching), and in each of them there is probably at least one individual who can read well enough to understand the latest legislation.

I suggest that, if there are apprehensions in a school about knife-carrying, then that person might be usefully employed in the matter. Should it not be possible to find a suitably qualified manager, there is almost always an able classroom teacher on hand.
R Burnett,
Wood Lea,
Houghton

Brain helmet could be gift to mankind
THE helmet invented by Dr Dougal that cures Alzheimer's (Echo, July 14) could be the biggest gift to mankind since penicillin for millions of people all over the world who suffer from it.

It's got to be everyone's nightmare as they get older, not for just themselves but for their families, ending their lives completely dependant and with no recognition of them whatsoever.

I know because my mother suffered 14 years of dementia. I would have given anything, even if it was for the last day of her life, for her to wear this helmet and to hear her say I love you and for me to say it back and for her to die with dignity.

I hope this wonderful invention gets off the ground. Just think of what it would do for the North East because I know what will happen, just like so many British inventions in the past, the US will snap it up and claim it was theirs.
L Simpson,
Hall Farm,
Sunderland

Love thy neighbour
RE gay bishops, on writing this letter I know I will ruffle some feathers but it's how I feel in my own conscience.

Why shouldn't there be gay priests or bishops? We have, as people well know, gay MPs, surgeons and other people who are in the limelight, so why can't gay people be accepted if they have faith in God, the church and the priesthood?

The ten commandments say love thy neighbour, the greatest of the commandments, in conscience, tells me live and let live in these circumstances.
JR Thompson,
Springwell Road,
Sunderland

Don't celebrate it
SO the time of the "great treachery" has passed once again with the usual round of July 4 celebrations concerning a great event – our defeat in the American War of Independence.

What kind of society celebrates a defeat? A thoroughly brainwashed bunch of no-hopers battered by a stream of propaganda directed at this country from the US.

Parties, gatherings of all kinds around the country, but most shameful of all was the sight of schoolchildren honouring the "Old Glory" (as the Echo put it), complete with little American flags at their breast.
All celebrating a defeat in a war that killed thousands of British people.

Can you imagine what would happen if someone honoured the Viet Cong for their winning of the war in their country, the rout of the Americans and the Yanks unceremonious de-bunking from Saigon? (Even with the help of Rambo and Arnold Schwarzenegger).

The Un-American activities group (as was) would have Guantanamo bursting at the seams.

As we stumble forward blindly towards the time when we will be given the "honor" of being made into the 51st State of the Union, we must put up with the population, not exactly slowly turning into Yank clones, talking about "lootenants" and everything on "skedule" and even unions being taken over by their sister organisations across the water.

The centre of all this farce is Washington Old Hall. Flog it to the Yanks and ship it over there
AE Steel,
Phoenix Road,
Sunderland

IT IS a real pleasure to go through our beautiful Mowbray Park. I wonder what has become of the swans which disappeared not long ago from the lake? I remember watching them with their little fluffy cygnets swimming after them.
Mary Erskine,
Nelson Close,
Sunderland

NORA and Jack thank their loving family for a memorable evening on their diamond wedding. Many thanks to our relations and friends for coming, and for thecards and flowers and donations to Grace House.
Nora and Jack Carter