ADVERSE publicity for Seaburn often appears in the Letters page by people who compare our coastline with South Shields.
The Echo also occasionally publishes pictures of long-faced councillors gazing at some grotty spot behind the seaside.
So it was surprisingly refreshing to look at some good news in the paper recently concerning the area.
There was EV Ellwood, who rightly stated that Roker Park was one of the best in the North East and elaborated on the other attractive facilities available in our locality.
Then there was the Echo photograph of exotic potted palm trees along the Seaburn promenade, which captured the horticultural creativity of the council's green- fingered, award-winning park squad.
Their fragrant floral displays dotted along the highways made travelling a pleasure and brought delight to one's senses.
The whole uplifting experience was summed up by one old lady when queuing in the city centre for fresh fish.
There were murmurs of approval when she said "Sunderland must now be regarded as the flower garden of England."
The fishmonger looked up from his crab display and agreed that not many people would disagree with the old lady's statement.
W Quinn,
Sunderland

Give us a seafront we can be proud of
I TOTALLY agree with what bewildered taxpayer said about Seaburn and South Shields.
We have a beautiful beach but nothing to go with it, apart from amusement arcades, restaurants and pubs.
We need more attractions for families. I remember when our beach used to be packed in the summer.
There was a fairground and small kiosks that sold everything, such as toffee apples, candy floss and even fresh fish.
There were lots of attractions for the kids, and even adults.
So come on Sunderland Council, get your finger out and give us a beach that we can boast about again.
We have paid for it, so can we have the goods?
Sheila French,

Don't tell people how to grieve!
I FEEL I must write to you after reading the letter headlined "Put an end to these memorials".
How can anyone pass judgment and state how people should grieve for their loved ones? Has this person lost someone they love?
Grief is a strange thing, and sometimes you seek comfort from being at the last place your loved one was.
Please do not thrust your own opinions on people, especially people who have lost loved ones in tragic circumstances and never come to terms with this.
Perhaps before you put pen to paper next time, you should think about the people who leave the flowers etc, and how they must be coping with their loss. I know I do!
Sunderland forever

Who is responsible for street lighting?
THIS lamp was knocked over on the bank holiday Saturday night.
The stump lay on the pavement until it was reported to Sunderland Council's highways department on the following Tuesday.
Their answer was "we are not responsible for street lighting any more. It is out to contractors and I can give you the number to ring to have it removed".
I then phoned the council's sub-contractor, who stated that they knew nothing about it lying on the pavement.
Credit due, they came and removed the lamppost stump that day.
But the steel reinforcing left over from the lamppost is still sticking up in the sky for any child, elderly person, or somebody who has been out for a drink, to stumble over and possibly lame themselves severely.
When I rang the council again to inform them of the obvious hazard to people and animals, the answer was "we are not responsible for street light defects, it is out to contractors."
They then asked me, again, if I wanted the phone number to complain to.
One question arises here, and that is, who do we send the bill to should a member of our family or a child playing in the street fall on to it and is seriously hurt, or at worst, killed by the spikes sticking up out of the ground?
Fed-up Resident,
South Hylton,
Sunderland

Whipping is cruelty
BEATING animals is a vicious crime everywhere, it seems, apart from a racecourse, where horses are whipped while thousands look on.
Even horses who are out of contention are beaten all the way to the finishing line.
A study of 1,500 horses found horses who were whipped were actually less likely to win.
It's time to speak out against this cruelty. It's time to ban the whip.
Kate Fowler-Reeves,
Animal Aid,
Tonbridge,
Kent

Forget insincerity and just go Tony
MORE tragic, intolerable and needless deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Tony is swanning around with a personalised mug (although it's a sick-bucket the rest of us are reaching for), setting up a PR offensive which will, apparently, see him ooze sanctimony on Songs of Praise and "get street wi' da kidz" on Blue Peter.
Why doesn't he just deliver the milk, do the meals-on-wheels runs and tell us the weather on all TV channels?
I mean, he may as well. His greasy mask of fake sincerity is as hard to avoid as the Cheshire cat in Wonderland these days.
The man will have to wear his undies over his trousers one of these days, he's such a super "kind of straight", everyday sort of guy.
What a joke! He's holding the mug, but we are the mugs for allowing him to hold anything but his P45 or an invitation to the Hague to answer a few questions.
That said, the man only recently parted with his mullet, the badge of a 24-carat plonker, but he still loves his blue jeans and a bit of a strum on the old guitar.
I know he will have surely been looking for another anthemic crowd-pleasing showstopper to signal his entrance onto the podium in Manchester this week.
I can think of nothing more apt than Down Down by Status Quo.
They're balding has-beens who won't lie down and die either!
Andrew Cain,
Murton

Cameron should embrace the USA
THE youthful David Cameron pledged a future Tory Government would be "solid but not slavish" in its friendship with the US and its instinctive friend, but not its unconditional associate.
And, in a guarded critique of the Bush administration's foreign policy, he said: "Too often American foreign policy is driven by easy soundbites."
Mr Cameron must really say what he means. Is he pro-American or not?
Allies, by their very nature, are unconditional associates and instinctive friends, especially when they are allied in a terrorist war, which his own party initially supported but then reneged on.
If President Bush's foreign policy was driven by soundbites, give some examples. People want to know these things.
Indeed, before Mr Cameron's emergence as Tory leader, his party was an unconditional friend of the US, until President Bush, gave Michael Howard, "a flea in the ear" for his anti-Iraq war, anti-Tony Blair stance.
It's unbelievable such people can forget the American role in World War II and their unswerving support of the British people.
I, as a seven-year-old boy living in the South East at that time, will never forget.
Fred Brady,
Sunderland

Political waffling
AFTER having the Sunderland Echo delivered for several years I look forward to reading the letters page.
I know everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but the ramblings and waffle from Fred Brady and his cohort W Quinn leave a lot to be desired.
I was taught a long time ago that there are two subjects that will never be won. These are, namely, religion and politics.
The former is rarely in the letters page but the latter is, and as seen by these two gentlemen is deplorable.
Are these two the forerunners of "Rent a Gob" ?
There are better things to do in the world today than spouting off their own views on politics, as it always appears that they are dyed-in-the-wool protagonists.
Just as a matter of fact, I would like to know which optician do they both use, as I have tried and tried to purchase the rose-coloured spectacles they wear, as mine never seem to see the same as theirs.
A Pallister,
address supplied

Pontoon stalemate
I CONTACTED Sunderland Council last year to formally request that the Hudson Dock Boating & Yachting Association be allowed to acquire Claxheugh Rock pontoons.
I have spoken to Captain Duncan, harbourmaster and port manager, about resiting these pontoons in the South Docks to provide easier and safer access to members' boats.
We have several registered disabled members and were willing to move these pontoons at no cost to the council's taxpayers
Captain Duncan had no objection with the suggestion. However, the problem of ownership and responsibility for the pontoons remains an issue.
I am quite sure when a death or deaths occur that the parasitic compensation legal eagles will very quickly establish ownership of these pontoons and the taxpayers of Sunderland will have to pick up the bill.
The contents of this letter reflect my personal opinions on this situation. I have also contacted my councillor, D Forbes, and my MP Chris Mullin on this matter, all to no avail.
It appears to me that an avoidable tragedy will have to happen before the bureaucrats take any action.
M Dodds,
Treasurer,
Hudson Dock Boating & Yachting Association