AFTER almost 20 years representing Sunderland South as its MP, Chris Mullin has decided to call it a day.
Twenty years is a long time and though there are those who did not always agree with what he had to say, no one can cast doubts on his integrity and the fact that he retained his dignity while other MP's were losing theirs gorging at the trough.
Mr Mullin believes that whoever is chosen to succeed him will hold the seat for Labour. Given the boast that in the North East votes for Labour are weighed rather than counted; if they fail to win Sunderland at the next general election there is little chance of them winning seats anywhere.
It won't be just the end of New Labour, it will be the end of the Labour Party. A distinct possibility if they continue to ignore the growing anger and resentment of the vast majority of hard working decent "Common People" who elected them to office.
We have a Government which doesn't understand that the only reason it was elected was to look after the interests of the British people.
For the past 11 years we have endured the sight and sound of a bunch of political plonkers who believe that their first duty is to the rest of the world while we, the indigenous population, count for nothing.
Higher and higher taxes, uncontrolled immigration into our small, overcrowded island; the destruction of occupational pension schemes through ill-thought-out legislation; ignored manifesto commitments to give us a say on Europe; sending our soldiers to fight wars against religious fanatics in a mistaken belief that we can impose political democracies on Islamic hell holes.
A sample of many reasons why so many believe that our present Government has completely lost the plot and squandered the trust given to it by so many when it came in from the cold in May 1997.
Ron Metcalfe,
Warwick Drive,
Sunderland.

Are adverts to blame for this?
ONE wonders why the young and immature are walking out in front of moving vehicles and almost requesting drivers to collide with them. Sometimes its on bikes or scooters.
Yesterday I watched in horror to see a youth wheelying a bike in the centre of the road and ending up over the handle-bars. Amazingly, he re-mounted and rode off. Fifteen seconds earlier or later would have been fatal.
It really makes me wonder how much influence comes from the television commercials one hears every few minutes: "Have you had an accident?" We live in a really greedy for-money world. I bet no one has ever yet completed a survey-analysis to find out just how many people are killed by this lustful greed for compensation each year.
The advert I speak of to young ears must sound like: "Have you had an accident?" No! "Well why not have one."
Such adverts should be banned as they only encourage fools to break the safety rules.
J.B. Chambers,
Rickleton,
Washington.

We need our jails to be tougher
YOU are on about gun crime and knife crime, how to stop it.
Well, how about making a jail a jail and not a hotel with games, three meals a day, TV and ability to sue for compensation, or a jail inspector to make sure every thing clean and tidy for them.
Who is running this country?
Warders have to take their boots off on nighshift as it will disturb the prisoners. One man on TV said he had his own key for the cell.
How can you beat crime like this? Bring the hanging back and the lash.
Justice.

How you can help save the mail
THE fight to keep the six-day-a-week Royal Mail Delivery service across all the United Kingdom has started.
There is now a petition on the Prime Minister's web site at – http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/postsave/
Please view and sign it to show the country is behind the campaign.
F E Sharpe,
Plymouth.

Matters of princple
PEOPLE say hardly anyone does anything on principle these days; it's all about money.
There is something in it, because even some charities are businesses, making big deductions for expenses.
On the other hand, I know one phone-in presenter who left his estate agent job because he objected to what he was being asked to do.
And yet another, who gave up his teaching job because he did not agree with the school's discipline regime.
If we don't have a "no can do" point, then we turn into rule-book monkeys, with the boss writing the rules.
Max Nottingham,
St Faiths Street,
Lincoln.

Got a gripe? Call this number
FURTHER to the Fulwell resident (Thursday, May 29) who notes how shops in the area were "fly-tipping", we would suggest that anyone who has a similar issue should call the Neighbourhood Helpline – 0300 1000 101.
People can use Neighbourhood Helpline to report a range of issues that can affect and spoil their quality of life.
Since it went live at the beginning of April, Neighbourhood Helpline, which is a joint venture between Sunderland and Newcastle city councils, has received more than 3,000 calls and helped more than 1,000 people in the two cities.
You can call 0300 1000 101, twenty four-hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year to report issues associated with:
Abandoned vehicles
Dog fouling
Noise nuisance – for example, noisy neighbours or burglar alarms
Rubbish, litter or fly-tipping – including discarded needles or dead animals
Sale of alcohol to under 18s
Smoking in enclosed public places
Street lighting – including broken lights or badly lit areas
Vandalism, graffiti and other deliberate damage.
Some Neighbourhood Helpline services may not be delivered round-the-clock, but you can report a problem at any time to the above number and you'll be told when it will be sorted out.
Anyone with a non-emergency incident and wanting a police response should call: 03456 043 043
Couns Dave Allan (Sunderland City Council) and Anita Lower (Newcastle City Council).

We must fight 'super surgeries'
I RECENTLY learned from my GP surgery, namely The Old Forge Surgery, Pallion, that they believe their existing healthcare system is under threat as the Sunderland Health Authority has been instructed by the Government to introduce three new health clinics and one polyclinic to the area and that this would be at the expense of the named (and perhaps other) GP surgery's in the area.
It gets worse as these new clinics may well be run by multinational corporations (eg. Tesco or Virgin or of the like) for the purpose of making private profits from our healthcare.
It would appear that general practice is being privatised by the back door.
I do not believe this will make for an improved service, but that it will be detrimental to the service offered, which means our healthcare will suffer as a result.
I recently was unfortunate to receive the medical attention of the Bunny Hill Primary Care Centre. This was an experience I shall not be repeating as my appointment in March involved firstly a non-responsive receptionist and I have still to receive any further communication relative to my visit.
Is this an example of depersonalised and de-centralised healthcare I ask myself?
I write as a recently retired Registered Nurse (though still registered as a nurse) to put forward my view that the aforementioned plan is absolutely unacceptable.
Books have been written about the inequalities in healthcare, ie. overall inequality which relates to individual income and their ability/inability to stand-up for themselves. This is a case in point and I ask the Friends' of The Old Forge Surgery to urgently plan for demonstrations with the aim of letting the Sunderland Health Authority know that the patients of Millfield, Pallion etc., will not accept the plan as put forward by this Government and that they are prepared to fight for the maintenance of their existing preferred healthcare arrangement.
I would be prepared to be near the head of such demonstrations.
Let us let Sunderland Health Authority know our thoughts – preferably in an ordered and planned way and press our message hard.
I call upon the support of local members of Parliament and local councillors in our endeavours.
Roger Chapman,
Fern Street,
Sunderland.

Thanks to the hospital team
MY family and myself would just like to say a big thank-you to all the staff on Ward D41 at the Royal Hospital during my recent stay between April 30 to May 16.
From Professor Gray and all his medical team, to Helen and all the nurses, the auxiliary staff, to Gina and all the tea and cleaning ladies. I received nothing but great care and attention.
Norman Alstow,
King Edward Road,
South Hylton,
Sunderland.

Thanks to the Samaritans
I WOULD like to thank all the people who came to my aid when I fell in the middle of the road on Friday May 23. This happened in Silksworth Lane near Focus.
I had fallen on my back and my head was bleeding. They kept me safe from the traffic, phoned an ambulance and stayed till it came.
Luckily, I had only split my head.
Without these people things could have been much worse. Thank You.
Moira Hughes,
Killingworth Drive,
High Barnes,
Sunderland.

More will head to our crowded island
TURKEY is a Muslim country which wants to join the EU. It is not in Europe and is bordered by Iran, Iraq and Syria. If Turkey gets its way, people from all these countries will be able to make their way to the UK.
When PM Tony Blair signed up to allowing people from all 27 EU countries to come to live in England at will, one of only three countries to agreed to this.
Look at a globe of the world and see our little group of islands. We are already not just full but overcrowded. Surely in the name of logic the UK should be able to withdraw from this agreement.
Last year165,000 foreigners were given UK citizenship, a seven per cent rise. One in eight of our work force are immigrants.
£5billion a year of our taxes go to Europe. The EU is famed for corruption and their finances have never been legally audited.
Marjorie Matthews
Aiskell Street
Millfield
Sunderland.

Expect no oil bounty from Opec
IN the Middle East the West hasn't got many friends. It therefore came as no surprise when the organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) turned down a request by Western Governments to reduce the record high price on a barrel of oil.
Opec members include, Libya (the current chair) Iran and Venezuela who are quite content to let the Western economies slump while they go laughing all the way to the bank.
Saudi Arabia are supposedly Western friendly and the Minister for Petroleum and Mineral Resources Ali al-Naumi controls more oil than the rest which gives him the power to defy Opec.
Bearing this in mind, the West have appealed for him to start pumping more oil which would automatically bring down oil prices.
However, with his own country profiteering and seemingly unwilling to antagonise his neighbours Ali has so far been unhelpful.
According to him, oil prices are being driven by financial factors like speculators and not by supply and demand.
The situation could get steadily worse as global oil production peaks. This will leave two thirds of the world oil reserves in the Middle East, which will give the oil barons absolute dominance to play havoc with Western economies.
W Quinn,
Millfield,
Sunderland.

Here's a thought to wrestle with
EXACTLY 20 years ago televised professional wrestling on ITV ended. It was on ITV every Saturday afternoon for 33 years.
Looking back some of the all-time greats of grappling stars who spring into mind were wrestlers such as Jackie Pallo, Mick McManus, Les Kellett, Steve Logan, Big Daddy, George Kidd, Johnny Saint, Giant Haystacks, Mike Marino, Johnny Kwango, Digger Rowell, Brian Maxine, Marty Jones, Colin Joynson, Pat Roach, Wayne Bridges, Jim Breaks, Sid Cooper, The Royal Brothers, Bobby Barnes, Adrian Street, Alan Colbeck, Dennis Lord, Les Prest, Alan Kilby, Fit Finlay, Masambula, Tibor Szackacs, Big Bruno, Steve Veidor, Rollerball Rocco, Ivan Penzecoff, Kendo Nagasaki, Pete Roberts, Kung Fu, Ironfist Clive Myers and Catweazle.
The famous venues throughout Britain from the Royal Albert Hall in London, Catford, Bognor Regis, Accrington and Wembley also included Sunderland and Newcastle.
The man behind the voice of professional wrestling for many years was Kent Walton. He first began commentating in 1955 and in 1980 he notched up 5,000 televised wrestling contests from the West Ham Baths to Rickmansworth.
The grapple fans who watched the wrestling on the small screen ranged from six to seven millions. When Jackie (Mr TV) Pallo first met the infamous Mick McManus viewing figures reached 11-12million, more than the cup final day.
So on Saturday, December 17, 1988, when professional wrestling come to the end after 33 years of grunt and groan Saturday afternoons for a lot of people was never the same again. So can ITV1 bring back all the re-runs of the shows from now until five years time?
Terry Christie,
Woodside Terrace,
East Herrington,
Sunderland.