Letters, Friday, June 26, 2009
Hospital's expansion caused parking mess
I ATTENDED the extraordinary meeting on Tuesday, June 16, about Sunderland's hospital extension plans as one of the objectors on parking grounds.
This meeting was brought forward, I think so the plans could be railroaded through. Not all people who wrote objecting to the plans were informed of the change of date. Those who were told only got letters on Friday, June 12.
The hospital caused this parking problem by pulling Havelock, Grindon Children's Royal Infirmary and Ryhope all on to what was the General Hospital site, and it is far too small.
Sunderland Council planners must have been stupid to let this happen. A primary school child knows six into one does not go.
What happened to the money from the sale of Havelock Hospital and the Royal Infirmary land used for houses? This should have been used to provide hospital multi-storey parking so residents didn't have this inconvenience.
I would like to point out that only the Conservative councillors supported the residents. The Labour councillors were in favour of the hospital plan. I hope the residents remember this when the elections come round.
B Smith,
Barnes
We'll miss you, Bill
THERE was an extremely offensive letter concerning Bill Ethrington MP from Vedra on your Letter's Page, June 10.
On the date in question, Bill Ethrington MP was in the House of Commons being lobbied by members of the newly merged Age Concern and Help The Aged.
A good constituency MP does not have to be seen on Prime Minister's Questions. He deals effectively with his constituents' requests.
Examples of these are dealing with questions from armed services pensioners, company pensioners and pensioners receiving the state retirement pension.
I am the delegate from Sunderland Pensioners' Association to the North East Pensioners' Association, (NEPA) and the National Pensioners' Convention (NPC). I am also on the board of Years Ahead, the principal forum on ageing.
Whenever there is a lobby of Parliament by the NPC or something similar, Bill can be relied on for his support.
The Sunderland Pensioners' Association is based in Sunderland and Bill has always been supportive and helpful. When Bill retires he will be greatly missed by the Sunderland Pensioners' Association.
Of course, Sunderland North ceases to be a constituency and we will be based in Sunderland Central.
Bob Bell,
Seaburn
Nothing's changed
THE country at present is in a dreadful state. Parliament needs to be de-loused and reassembled in a new clean image to satisfy the poor electorate of this country.
So what has happened? All the ragbags who caused the chaos in the first place are the ones now positioning themselves to supply us with a squeaky clean Government.
They are all there. Brown, Cameron, Harman, Darling. Nothing has changed and regardless of all the rhetoric no one is going to lose out financially.
Can anyone tell me the name of one MP who has had his pay stopped forthwith? In 300 years one speaker has lost his job. He played a focal part in this disaster and what happens? He's to join the House of Lords gravy train.
While desperately trying to hold on to office, Brown tells us we need transparency and open government then orders an inquiry into the Iraq war to be held in secret. Nothing changed there then. This crowd are now organising MPs future expenses. Watch them. "The con is on".
If this had been a private company all of them would have been sacked, the building fumigated and the electorate invited to vote in new faces, with new rules nailed to the public notice board.
We will now have a turbulent last year of office and then we will all be invited to vote for ... guess who? Brown or Cameron.
Smile you lucky people you.
Tonto
Hit a brick wall
MY great uncle served in World War Two in the Desert Rats.
He survived the war and when he died left me his medals as he was never married.
I have tried to discover which regiment he was in, his rank and service number. All requests for help with this seems to hit a brick wall.
Officials always want service number, rank and regiment in order to help. But these are the very things I'm trying to find out.
I would have thought that by giving them his name, date of birth and address at the time of joining, they would be able to trace the information. Doesn't seem a lot to ask when he went through the war and fought for his country.
If anyone could help or give me any advice on this subject it would be much appreciated, as I have been trying for some months now.
Disillusioned
South Hylton
Tel. 07528 865707
Cowardly driver left our dog to die
I would like to write this letter to the mindless person who hit our dog Gracie, at the Mission in Deneside, Seaham. On Saturday, May 30, between 6:45pm and 7:00pm.
Just to let you know after you did this cowardly "hit and run" Gracie lived approximately 15 minutes after it.
I suppose you're well aware that you're supposed to report hitting a dog to the police. But you didn't. You drove off and left her, so you must have something to hide!
Thank you to Peter and a young boy (whom we don't know the name of), for finding Gracie's owners. And a thank-you to our friends Pauline and family for being there and making sure Gracie didn't die alone.
We hold our hands up and know she shouldn't have been out on her own but she jumped our fence and we were unable to catch her. We even know the outcome would've probably been the same but you should've stopped instead of running off with your tail between your legs.
Remember this though, you can run. But you can't hide!
The Turnbull Family,
Frank Avenue,
Seaham
What did they do?
MESSAGE to Mr W Quinn: Labour has been in Government for twelve years in which time they have reversed hardly any of the major policies initiatives of the previous Conservative adminstartion.
Let's start with privatisation of the utilities, deregulation and privatisation of public transport, quangoes, the National Lottery and league tables for schools.
Now let's add the Labour ones – university tuition fees, five billion tax on pensions, detainment without trial, ID cards, largest DNA database of innocent people and four armed conflicts.
Not a non-miltiary ship built and not a single coal mine reopened. I'll also throw in lip-service to your heartlands. If that's not true, why female-only shortlists in safe seats? Gwyneth Dunwoody and Barbara Castle did okay without them
Shaun Cudworth,
Silksworth
Changing values
ON a recent very hot day I happened to be in Ryhope Colliery and decided to have a drink in a local pub.
On entering and ordering a drink I was politely asked to remove my cap. It was a house rule established when the management took over.
However, through my stay I heard incredibly bad language from the pub's clientele, shouted out without a care for anyone.There was not a twitter from the management.
About 45 years ago I recall a row of black-capped miners a few yards down the road in the Ryhope Poplars Club on a Wednesday night calling for a committee man because of bad language coming from a single member.
Odd values even in these changing times.
The Composter
Don't confuse ME with other illnesses
I WISH John Dolan and all his family of hearty buccaneers all the very best on their pirate fun run day, for the very worthy cause of raising funds for Sunderland's Grace House Children's Hospice Appeal (Echo, June 16), but I'll bet my last doubloon that he doesn't have, perhaps never had, ME (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis).
This is not to suggest that he did not have some genuine illness at all. In the absence of any details about the onset of his illness – quite understandable in an article of this kind and for the sake of patient confidentiality – it is impossible to be sure of his diagnosis but he may well have had one of several illnesses subsumed under the very general diagnostic label Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS).
It is frequently said that the ME and CFS are synonymous and interchangeable, but they are not. ME sufferers may be doubly unlucky but most do not routinely have depression or any psychiatric illness, nor fatigue as we normally understand it.
The chances are that most people, like John, made a degree of recovery either with time, or by resting, perhaps in association with some other medical treatment and then were able to do some exercise not, the opposite way around, that the exercise (which they couldn't contemplate when at their worst) helped them recover. Ironically, this is the worst thing that ME sufferers can do.
These associations, which are regularly made, are not only of no help to people with ME, they are potentially harmful. Will you Sunderland shipmates help put a stop to this unwelcome sort of piracy – or we may have to make you walk the plank!
Dr John H Greensmith,
ME Free For All. org,
36a North Street,
Downend,
Bristol
email:drjohngreensmith@mefreeforall.org
Insult to residents
HOUSING is a complicated issue, as I can testify after nearly 40 years of being involved and any discussion about the problems facing the city of Sunderland was not helped by very disappointing contribution from Councillor Graeme Miller (Echo, May 22).
Claims that local Conservatives were "all hot air" and "empty gestures" coupled with their "brilliant ideas ending up File 13 the bin" were at best misleading and at worst an insult to the many residents of our city on whose behalf we have expressed concerns as to the direction of housing policy, both local and national.
Over the past few years local Conservatives have raised concerns about a wide variety of housing issues such as the payment of benefits to tenants rather than direct to their landlords, which may result in greater debt and possible eviction, plus the sale-leaseback potential racket, which leaves homeowners in debt worse off and at times homeless.
We have supported the Council's Landlord's Accreditation Scheme and have encouraged it to be extended. We support very admirable organisations like the Long Streets Action Group in Hendon which, among other positive requests, wish to see the Landlord's Licensing Scheme made compulsory to their specific area.
I have submitted endless letters and articles about the Home Information Packs compulsorily required for a property sale, which I have opposed from day one. The Government's pilot scheme for the possible formation of a Local Housing Company in the city has our support, subject to greater detail being made available.
The local Conservative Party will remain highly critical of the gentoo policy that has left vast areas of our former council housing vacant without much sign of replacement affordable housing to rent.
We have expressed great concern that the resultant exodus of "problem tenants" into the private rented sector has meant the increase of almost inevitable antisocial behaviour by their presence in say Millfield, Hendon and Silksworth. But we also are very pleased to praise gentoo for their high standard and variety of construction where there is success and excellent progress.
Councillor Michael Dixon,
Housing Spokesman,
Sunderland Conservatives
HARRY Hedley ex-RAF 196 squadron, Oakington, Cambridge.
Don't know if you are still around Harry? I sincerely hope so. It is over 60 years since we last spoke, a long, long time.
You hopefully would remember me from RAF Oakington, I remember you well. You had a young sheep dog, which you kept at the local vets just outside of the camp. we used to walk it in the summer months.
One day you were posted elsewhere and we lost contact, that being the last time we saw each other. I would very much like to hear from you (or any relatives you might have that could tell me about you) I live in a little village in Surrey, called Compton, near Guildford. My phone number is 01483-810755.
If you or anyone else that knows you could make contact I would be very pleased to hear from you. From memory I believe you said your family owned a haulage business, this may or may not be correct, no doubt someone will let me know. Thanks in anticipation.
Fred Alexander,
RAF Oakington (Stirling Bomber Squadron).
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Friday 10 February 2012
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