DID you ever serve on board any of the light fleet carriers, HMS Bulwark, HMS Albion, or HMS Centaur?
Our Association, the HMS Bulwark Albion Centaur Association, is open to anyone who served at any time on these ships.
There is a magazine three times per year plus events, including an annual meeting and socials, sea days with our new ships and anniversary commemorations at home and abroad.
Whilst our "home port" is Portsmouth, next year's annual meeting and social will be held at Sand Bay Holiday Village, Beach Road, Kewstoke, Weston Super Mare, Somerset, on Saturday, May 30, 2009.
We also sponsor sea cadets from our affiliated SCCs on the training ship Royalist.
Membership is all of £8 per annum.
Inquiries to Leigh Easton, Glenmoray, Hayford Place, Cambusbarron, Stirling FK7 9JX, or email ngsfo@tiscali.co.uk or visit our website at www.bulwarkassoc.plus.com
Leigh Easton,
membership secretary,
Cambusbarron,
Stirling.

Time to stop these thundering HGVs
WITH regard to the article Traffic forces mum to move (Echo Page 9 on Thursday, May 22).
I can fully understand the parents decision to move away from the Seaham Road area due to the extremely heavy amount of HGV traffic which thunders up and down the road with no regard for the law (speed limit), planning enforcement rules (no sheeting of the lorries), or the safety of the people that live locally.
I have written numerous letters to the Echo on this subject in an effort to highlight this issue but it seems to no avail and appear to fall upon deaf ears at Sunderland City Council.
On top of all this Eppelton Quarry has a planning application submitted to extend the life of the quarry for a further 27 years, which will increase the number of HGVs using this rat-run and therefore make it even more dangerous to live on Seaham Road, the Market Place and the surrounding area.
I must, however, take issue with the director of Development and Regeneration Services, who states that "the area of Seaham Road in the vicinity of the accident location is currently monitored by mobile speed camera enforcement".
I'd like to know when?
My grandparents live 20 metres from where the accident took place and I can categorically state that I have never seen a mobile speed camera there.
I phoned my grandad to ask him if he had ever seen a speed camera there. He can remember there was once a policeman with a hand-held speed gun there, but this was only once and quite a while ago.
So can the director tell me dates and times of when these speed enforcement cameras where monitoring the traffic here?
Secondly, he states that "the city council, in partnership with the operator of Eppelton Quarry, has also recently introduced a vehicle actuated speed warning repeater sign to assist current enforcement".
This is true. However, the warning sign is neither use nor ornament as it doesn't stop the 30-ton plus HGVs from speeding – rather just tells them that they are, which they seem to choose to ignore. So how is that enforcement?
The only ray of hope that the residents of Seaham Road and the surrounding area have is that the Labour councillors from the Houghton and Copt Hill wards have now been ousted after "dancing to the city council's tune" rather than listening to the actual people they were supposed to represent and have been replaced by local independent people who care that Houghton is becoming "the pit" of Sunderland and would like their once beautiful town back, and to say goodbye to the HGVs and tips that Sunderland City Council has inflicted upon us.
I will ask the question once again – would 250-plus HGVs a day be allowed to thunder down Strawberry Bank, breaking speed limits? I think not. So why is okay at Seaham Road and Houghton Market Place?
Steve Winlow,
Newbottle.

Music cartridge plea
I AM writing to see if your readers can put me in contact with someone who stocks music song cartridges for Yamaha Portatone Keyboard PSR-330.
Ring 552 4559 if you can help.
J Stokoe,
Hylton Castle Road,
Castletown,
Sunderland.

Thanks for help
WE the Sunderland MS Society would like to thank the customers and staff of Morrisons Seaburn for their generosity.
We raised more than £1,240 on April 19.
Michelle Paterson,
Sunderland.

Speak out before EU takes us over
IN response to Pauline Featonby-Warren's letter of May 14 regarding the EU's determination to "divide and rule", I agree we're being deliberately kept in the dark by Westminster and Brussels.
The emerging "Regions" of "Member States" will, in due course, answer directly to Brussels.
The European Union of Regions will become reality, with complete disregard for democracy, accountability, geography and history.
Five British Prime Ministers (Conservative and Labour) have surrendered Britain to the EU since 1972, through a succession of treaties, understanding only too well the real aims of The European Project. Treason!
Ratification of the latest charade – the EU Constitution (or Lisbon Treaty) – will mean: a permanent EU President with powers similar to the U.S. President; an unelected EU Foreign/Defence Minister, and majority voting on such policy; a Self Amending Treaty allowing the EU to seize even more powers; legal personality for the EU – the UK could no longer act independently on the international stage; EU Law to have primacy, and end to vetoes; an EU flag, national anthem, currency, constitution and DNA database; new powers for the European Court of Justice, with Corpus Juris (Inquisitorial Law) and unaccountable state police.
Norway and Switzerland are the wealthiest countries per head in Europe, and they aren't members of the EU.
Ninety percent of Britain's economy is nothing to do with EU trade, yet suffers from EU laws.
What little funding we get back from big brother Brussels is now allocated according to a transnational map, which is now legally in place.
Demand your say, before it's too late.
David M Caslaw,
Sunderland.

Help trace widow
CAN you please help me find Celia/Cecillia Walton, widow of Fredrick Walton.
She worked at Sunderland General Hospital in the 1960s and her last known address in the 1980s was Grangetown near St Aidan's Church.
I would also like to find my cousins, Noreen, Susan and Colin Newton, last known address Belsay Gardens, Chester Road.
Noreen got married but I don't know about Susan.
I would be so grateful if any Echo readers could help me.
You can contact Liz on (0191) 549 7170.
Thank you.
Mrs E Wilson,
28 Coverley Road,
Hylton Castle,
Sunderland SR5 3PS.

Be more considerate
FURTHER to the letter regarding disabled parking in Asda, me and my partner are regular visitors to Asda, particularly on a night.
I am disabled myself and we always find it difficult to park in disabled bays due to able bodied people parking in them and not having any consideration.
We wrote a letter to Asda complaining and they said there was nothing they could do as they did not want to upset other customers and would leave it to the consideration of able-bodied drivers not to use disabled bays.
Joy Hall,
Washington.

It's mam forever
IN reply to a loving mum, may I at once say you have my blessing and agree that you have every right to be addressed as an individual family to whatever you choose, but I still contend that mam and not mum is the most, by a long chalk, used in the Sunderland and district area.
The point of my letter was to query why the Echo always referred to the female parent as mum.
It all started with a five-year-old little girl down in Essex, whose mam hails from Sunderland.
In her school work she wrote Mammy, her parents the Playdells were annoyed (their word) when they found that the teacher had, no doubt meaning well, altered mammy to mummy.
Mr Playdell on visiting Sunderland to his surprise found that the Echo always used the same word and thought it, in a small way, an erosion of our heritage.
He wrote to the Echo and his letter headed MAM said it loud and said it proud (March 21), rightly receiving the Star letters award.
You say, loving mum, your daughter resides in America, so I have no doubt will have heard that old-time American singer, whose name escapes me for the moment, sing that he was prepared to walk a million miles for just one smile from his mummy.
Stan Turnes,
Fordfield Road,
Sunderland.

Take a walk for Cry
I'M not one to blow my own trumpet, but you may have noticed
that I'm becoming a bit of a fan of extreme sports.
Recent charity efforts have really seen me test myself to the limits,
both physically and mentally, which is why I'm urging all your readers to sign up for a truly inspiring event, raising money for a charity very close to my heart.
But you don't have to cross the channel or swim through shark
infested waters to help make a difference. In fact the charity
Cardiac Risk in the Young (Cry) is inviting people from across
the UK to join in its annual Heart of London Bridges Walk, which takes place on July 20.
The walk will take you over eight of London's bridges – a course of
about eight kilometres. As well as helping to raise much-needed funds for this special charity, of which I am proud to be a patron, it
also signifies the eight young people who tragically die of sudden
cardiac death every week in the UK.
This condition, which goes undiagnosed and usually affects
"apparently" fit and healthy adults aged 35 and under, has a devastating impact on families. Yet in many cases, with early screening and greater awareness, these deaths could be prevented.
That's why we need your support on July 20.
To find out more or to sign up for the walk, please log on to www.c-r-y.org.uk or ring 01737 363 222.
Thank you.
David Walliams,
Comedian, Actor and Cry patron.

Thanks for your vote
SUCCESSFUL Labour party candidates, Robin Todd and Eunice Huntington, would like to express their sincere thanks and appreciation to the residents of South Hetton, Shotton and Haswell for their support in the May 1 County Elections.
We look forward to serving all the residents within the ward and if you have any problems please do not hesitate to contact Robin on 526 1966 or Eunice on 526 5393.
Once again, many thanks.
Robin Todd and
Eunice Huntington.

I hope the person who dropped some cash (three notes) in BHS on Wednesday, May 28, at about 10.45am (that is when I found it), remembers where they lost it. I handed it into a shop assistant who looked quite surprised!
A Shopper.

CAN I thank Mr Boyce and his team at the Eye Infirmary and the staff at Victoria Road Health Centre, Washington, and the team at the Galleries Health Centre.
They have all been great with my health care. Thank-you all and God bless you all.
A grateful pensioner
Washington.

I WOULD like to thank the lady from Hylton Castle, Mrs Lake, who found my bag in Wilkinsons. She would not take a reward and I was so grateful to have it returned. It is nice to know there is still a lot of honest people about.
Mrs Taylor,
Hylton Castle.