SIR, - My wife, Diane Pretty, has asked me to write this letter thanking MP Anne Cryer for her support, because she is no longer able to write herself.

Motor neurone disease has left her mind as sharp as ever, whilst it has gradually destroyed her muscles, making it harder to understand her speech, leaving her in a wheelchair, catheterised and fed through a tube.

Diane currently receives excellent palliative care but does not want to endure a long drawn out death where she finds it increasingly difficult to breathe and finally dies through respiratory failure.

She wants to be legally able to decide for herself how and when she dies, and would need the help of a doctor to do this. The House of Lords has considered her request, but unfortunately it did not find in our favour and she now faces a long and undignified death.

From our experience, it is clear that the law needs to be changed so that people who are terminally ill can have a choice. Any new law must have proper safeguards to protect people as in Holland, Oregon and, very shortly, Belgium.

As you can imagine, the whole family were very disappointed with the House of Lords judgment. However, our spirits were given a real boost by the support we received from Anne Cryer when she signed a Motion in Parliament calling for a change in the law.

It is nice to know that there are compassionate Members of Parliament who are willing to stand up for the individual rights of their terminally ill constituents.

BRIAN PRETTY

60 Tythe Road,

Luton,

Beds LU4 9JH.

Historian's plea

SIR, - On behalf of St Margaret's Local heritage Initiative I am research the history of the Panorama Stone. My main interests at this time are Dr Fletcher Little (formerly of Ben Rhydding Hydro) who bought the stone.

And Mr William Brumfitt who owned the land from which the stones were removed. I would be interested to hear from any descendants of these two gentlemen, who may hold historical family records of the transaction. The date was around 1890 or thereabouts.

Does anyone have photographs of the stones and St Margaret's Park taken over the past 100 years which I may look at?

Also memories of how the park looked before it became overgrown. You can reach me on 07812 735 097, e-mail (imor2001@hotmail.com).

Frazer Irwin

Queens Road,

Ilkley..

Divine assistance

SIR, - With the greatest respect for Mr Boocock (Your Comment, January 24), as he admits in his letter, he has used very little thought. From the evidence, Mr Arafat is far from being a hero. That is fantasy.

The deadly enemy he refers to are the Jews, who tend to win most of their conflicts, due to Divine assistance that Mr Boocock appears to reject.

When the State of Israel was set up by United nations Charter in May, 1948, she was attacked within hours by Arab forces from Jordan, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon and Iraq, and has been ever since, often by forces much larger than hers. Due to Divine assistance, she has survived.

As a Christian, I firmly believe in the Bible, which includes Moses, Israel and Christ Jesus. If Mr Boocock were to take a look in its pages, he would find that the true hero is not Mr Arafat, but the one who cares and loves us all - Jesus Christ.

C W CLARK

65 Little Lane,

Ilkley..

Street names

SIR, - Please could any of your readers let me know if they have any records of old street names in Ilkley or advise me of someone who does.

I am doing family research and my grandmother's death certificate shows that she died at 5 South View, Ilkley, in 1917, although her home address at that time was in Pudsey.

There is no 'South View' in Ilkley today according to my map, so I want to find out what was 5 South View in 1917. It may have been a road which is no longer or may be some sore of institution or nursing home. Is there anywhere I can find this out?

Paul Mathers

4 Broadway Court,

the Broadway,

Chesham,Bucks, HP5 1 EG.

Penang pal

SIR, - I am wondering if any readers can help me locate the whereabouts of Frank McAdam, a British friend of mine whom I knew in Penang in the early 1960s.

Frank worked in McAlister Shipping at the time. In 1990 he was living in Pitlochry, Perthshire, after having spent some years in Hong Kong, but is now thought to be located in Spain. There are three grown-up children, but their whereabouts is also unknown. Frank would be in his sixties now, and he still owes me a beer.

Peter Jeans

PO Box 117,

Bindoon,

Western Australia 6502,

e-mail jeanspj@bigpond.com

Calling writers

SIR, - I am looking for potential science fiction or fantasy writers who may live in the Ilkley area. We are running a contest called L Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future Contest to give new SF writers the chance to make it into the big time.

The contest was started in America in 1984 by top SF writer L Ron Hubbard, author of the best-selling Battlefield Earth and Mission Earth series, who wanted to encourage new writing talent and open up opportunities for them to make a career from SF writing. The contest has drawn many entries from all over the world.

Entrants have to submit a story of up to 10,000 words, or a tale of short novel length, fewer than 17,000 words. These entries are judged by a penal of top SF writers such as Algis Budrys, Anne McCaffrey, Larry Niven, Robert Silverberg, Dane Wolverton, Kevin J Anderson, Orson Scott Card, Jerry Pornelle, Tim Powers and Andre Norton.

Each quarter there are cash prizes of £640, £480 and £320 for first, second and third place winners respectively, and an annual grand prize of £2,500.

All the 12 yearly winners also get published in an anthology entitled L Ron Hubbard Presents - Writers of the Future, which is distributed internationally.

In the contests held so far, UK authors have done very well and four people from the UK have had their stories published. They include Stephen Baxter and Malcolm Twigg.

If anyone would like to have a go at becoming a top science fiction, fantasy or horror author, send a copy of this article, stating the name and date of the newspaper, and a stamp-addressed envelope for a free entry form to: L Ron Hubbard's Writers of the Future Contest, PO Box 218, East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 4GH.

ANDREA GRANT-WEBB

Contest Administrator.

RSI awareness

SIR, - February 28 will be International Awareness Day when the RSI Awareness Day when the RSI Association will be launching its comprehensive new website http://www.rsi.or.uk .

I am sure you are very much aware of the risk of RSI posed by frequent typing and the use of the mouse. We at the RSI Association want to stop people developing the condition by making them aware of the risks they face and the best ways of preventing them.

We would like to help your readers understand that RSI is not a condition restricted to computer users. Anyone involved in repetitive activity of any kind is at risk.

We are particularly concerned about the increasing risk to children and young people, both from hand-held computer games and the increased use of 'texting'.

Many of the people who have contacted us have developed the condition as a result of typing, but there are others, including musicians, factory workers, an artist, a local authority education inspector, a bank cashier a florist and a croupier. There are also a few journalists.

Our freephone helpline number is 0800 018 5012 and opening hours are 11am to 5pm, Monday,Wednesday and Friday. Specially trained helpline staff will be available to provide information.

We can also refer your readers to their nearest local RSI contact.

ANDREW CHADWICK

Chief Executive,

RSI Association..

Congo plight

SIR, - In just a few hours a natural catastrophe devastated a corner of Africa. A wall of molten lava one kilometre wide engulfed the homes of 60,000 people who live in the shadow of the Nyirangongo volcano in Congo.

This is the latest tragedy in a region that's been plagued by conflict for the past six years. Since 1998 over two and a half million people have either been killed or have died from malnutrition and disease. Now most of those who remain have lost the few possessions they had - along with their hopes for a better future.

No-one knows for sure how many have perished but what's certain is that all the survivors desperately need our help. The Disasters Emergency Committee has launched an appeal on behalf of 12 leading aid agencies - all of them already working in the area. Survivors who head for home find a wasteland - a world without the basics of existence.

And those who camp out on the pavements or in fields may be safe from the lava but they have little food, shelter, clean water or medicine. Crowded and unsanitary conditions mean that the spectre of cholera now looms over this already decimated population.

The agencies must reach these people now and help them deal with the consequences of this disaster in one of the poorest and most war-torn countries of the world. The agencies know what needs to be done but they can't do it without money.

Will you please help? Just £30 will treat 18 people for severe malaria, £75 buys blankets of 30 vulnerable children and £100 will provide clean water to 4000 people for a week. Any amount, however small will help save lives.

You can donate by calling 0800 6060900, or you can send a donation to Goma Crisis Appeal, PO Box 999, London, EC3 3AA. You can also make a donation at any high street band or post office or through the DEC website www.dec.org.uk.

Robert Lindsay

Disasters Emergency Committee

Communique,

52 Great Portland Street,

London.