- 'Sharp drop' in degree courses
- Travellers 'hit by rip-off charges'
- Probe into sex-selection abortions
- UK urged to support tar sands ban
- GPs 'over-paid for ghost patients'
- Action urged on hip fracture costs
- Clegg reveals £1bn jobs fund boost
- RBS set to unveil £400m bonus pot
- Tributes to 'jolly jester' Carson
- Fast-track asylum delays criticised
- Korean firm wins MoD tankers deal
- Mother and daughter given Asbos
- 'Exceptionally' mild weather on way
- Teenager 'repeatedly raped by gang'
- Man quizzed over women's murders
- Cherie Blair makes phone hack claim
- Man accused of murdering vicar
- Peacocks saved, but 3,000 jobs go
- Sex attacker was under surveillance
- RBS set to unveil £400m bonus pot
Letters
£20k threat is unfair
WE are always hearing about the terrible things that happen to animals.
2 commentsJust another rip-off
A QUESTION for BT: we don’t rent the pipe that supplies our gas, we don’t rent the cable that supplies our electricity, we don’t rent the pipe that supplies our water.
2 commentsPlease slow down
THIS is a plea to remind residents and visitors to the Fenwick Avenue area of South Shields that it is a 20mph zone.
Not Keynes’s fault
I HAVE to respond to D Thompson’s letter ‘Fears over Inflation’ (Gazette, Wednesday), which blamed Keynesian economics for the current neo-conservative’s policies regarding quantitative easing.
5 commentsHeating or eating?
AS the UK recently grappled with below-freezing temperatures, worrying new research by charity Elizabeth Finn Care uncovered the plight of those on low incomes struggling to keep warm.
1 commentTelegram memories
AS an ex-native of South Shields, and having lived in London these past 54 years, my memory often wanders back to when I was a Post Office telegram boy in 1956.
Appeal to drivers
THE AA Charitable Trust has launched a search in South Tyneside to find nervous or rusty drivers who want to change their ways, with the help of a free driving course.
1 commentDangers of strokes
I AM sure that, like me, you’re really looking forward to London hosting the Olympic Games.
Warning in shiversome market scene
I ALSO read Janis Blower’s excellent, persuasive piece in the Gazette on February 6, which accompanied Ballingall’s 1876 watercolour of the Market Square in South Shields.
Cycling challenge
READERS may be used to seeing me on the telly but I can also be regularly spotted out and about on my bike.
Union’s blinkered view
IN the Gazette on Friday, February 3, we had Northern Area boss of the GMB union Tom Brennan looking at two scandals on the same page.
2 commentsService is our big asset
MOST weeks in the letters page, I read complaints about how parking fees and over-zealous traffic wardens are discouraging shoppers from entering our town centre.
3 commentsChickens home to roost
GOVERNMENTS over the last 30 years (particularly the last 13 years of Labour) who have driven the UK to be a predominantly service industry provider and neglected manufacturing, should now see clearly the dire error of their ways.
1 commentFears over inflation
BANK of England boss Mervyn King has cranked up the printing presses to create another £50bn out of thin air, which leaves the running total at £325bn.
Follow gut feelings
I AM urging residents of South Shields to follow their gut feeling if they suspect a case of meningitis and seek urgent medical attention.
Join the big team
HUNDREDS of people in your area will be training for this year’s Virgin London Marathon, and we are calling on them to be part of TeamPB on race day.
What a warped world
AN offensive six-letter word was bleeped out during Countdown the other week, with a startled Nick Hewer asking Suzie in dictionary dell if the word would stand up, much to the audience’s amusement.
1 commentStop the swearing
I WENT with friends to the Sunday for Sammy concert at Newcastle City Hall, and, as usual, it was a brilliant show.
A sign of the times
JUST a thought regarding HMV in King Street, South Shields, and the empty retail space next door.
3 commentsEnd cruel tethering
WE are writing regarding the often cruel practice of the tethering of horses, ponies and donkeys.
Penalise dog owners
I READ the news in the Gazette of a former police officer’s dog being attacked by a Staffordshire bull terrier, and her wish to include this breed in the Dangerous Dog Act.
2 commentsTown centre pride
I READ Janis Blower’s fine article in Cookson Country (Gazette, February 6) regarding the depiction of the quaint watercolour of the old market square in 1875, the imminent tearing down of Wouldhave House and what could eventually take its place.
Poetry competition
ANIMAL Aid is launching its fourth Nationwide Youth Art and Poetry Competition, and is inviting all young people between the ages of 11 and 14 to take part.
Worth remembering
THE go-ahead has been given for the dual stone and plaque tribute to the former Gas Light pub and the legendary pitman, William Jobling, to be placed on the site of the public house.
Don’t suffer alone
IN Tinnitus Awareness Week, I should like to urge any of your readers who suffer from this distressing condition not to suffer in silence, and remind them that help is available.
Thanks for purse
I DROPPED my purse in the market in South Shields, and it was picked up and returned by the stallholder and the market official.
Fantastic breed
I WOULD like to defend the Staffordshire bull terrier breed, referred to on the letters page yesterday.
2 commentsObesity: blame sweetener
OBESITY: blame HFCS-55. Though NHS dietitians seem oblivious to it.
1 commentDog condemnation wrong
I REFER to an article published in Saturday’s Gazette, ‘Ex-cop presses for tougher dog rules’.
2 commentsIn defence of bull terriers
AFTER reading about Miss Broadhurst’s pet poodle being attacked, I was left sickened and upset.
Falklands dangers
SO we have David Cameron sabre-rattling over the Falklands now, and that is all it will amount to, as well.
4 commentsIndoor market plea
I WELL remember the development of the Market area in South Shields in the 50s.
1 commentHelp over hearing
RECENT accounts in the national press have highlighted the plight of people with Sudden Neurosensory Hearing Loss.
Thanks for support
ON behalf of the Speech After Stroke Club, South Tyneside, I would like to thank Sue and Mick and customers of The Stag’s Head, South Shields, Marianne Halligan and colleagues of the delivery office of Royal Mail, South Shields, and Nick andf Tom, of Westcott News, for their marvellous fund-raising and donations.
Our purpose in life
WATER companies are being allowed by Government regulators to raise their charges by 5.7 per cent (apparently inflation plus 0.5 per cent).
2 commentsGetting skates on!
I’D like to say that these days when I go shopping, I go in and get goods, but when paying at the end of the counter, I get bombarded with more offers.
African location
I WOULD like to correct details in Gazette reports of racial abuse against a woman from Lesotho.
Landscape the area
MAY I, as a former resident of West Way, South Shields, make a few comments on future development of the site?
Counting the cost
I AM an old age pensioner of 79, and finding it harder each year to be loyal to this country.
2 commentsExaggerated views
WHAT a hysterical and patronising letter we saw from Colin Shevills, director of Balance, in Monday night’s Gazette (8,970 Reasons For Action).
4 commentsLook after your pets
AS the cold snap finally arrives, Dogs Trust, the UK’s largest dog welfare charity, is reminding pet owners to take extra steps to help their four-legged friends cope with the wintry conditions.
No divorce needed
DESPITE having Scottish ancestry on my father’s side, I just can’t take Alex Salmond seriously in his continuing quest for Scottish independence, when one half-expects him to shape-shift into Rab C Nesbitt at the drop of a hat!
1 commentLife-saving for free
I FEEL compelled to write to you regarding the importance of having yearly health checks
Wrong and unfair
HAVING read Coun Peter Boyack’s comments on housing losses (Shields Gazette, January 25). I can only assume he is making mischief at the expense of South Tyneside Homes, knowing his target will not respond due to its relationship with the council and the fact that five councillors sit on the board of South Tyneside Homes.
1 comment8,970 reasons for action
THIS morning there are 8,790 new reasons why the Government needs to act swiftly to stop the UK drinking itself to death.
5 commentsSouth Shields’ fortunes
I WOULD like to have the opportunity to congratulate the South Shields MP David Miliband for his success with his high earnings since Labour lost the election.
Wisdom in Scriptures
I WOULD like to thank you for the Text for Today item, and to whoever is responsible for it.
Giving views to council
COUNCILLOR Eileen Leask is unhappy with losing the planning appeal over Age Concern’s extension in Beach Road, South Shields, because it stops the view of a lovely Georgian terrace.
The people’s BBC
THE decision by the BBC Trust to back down in the face of public opposition to cuts in regional broadcasting is a significant victory for common sense and is a damning riposte to the BBC hierarchy’s misnomer of a policy, Delivering Quality First.
- Transfer Rumours: Tuesday, February 21
- Tottenham Hotspur set to swoop for Newcastle United ace
- Transfer Rumours Feb 22 update: Demba Ba, Asamoah Gyan, Newcastle, Sunderland, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Leicester
- Toddlers hurt by motorbike
- Transfer Rumours Feb 22: Demba Ba, Asamoah Gyan, Newcastle, Sunderland, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Jarrow
Thursday 23 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 7 C to 14 C
Wind Speed: 25 mph
Wind direction: West
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: 4 C to 10 C
Wind Speed: 26 mph
Wind direction: West
