Page 48 Daily Mail, Wednesday, August 28, 2019
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LETTERS
DEBATE
Should the Government
HS2 is going to be reviewed.
I suppose it was too much to
hope money would be spent
on big projects that help
Midlanders and Northerners
and reduce CO2 pollution.
If it is cancelled, no doubt
more billions will be spent in
London and the South-East.
Why can’t Britain have a
21st-century nationwide rail
system like France, Germany,
Italy and Japan? We are the
Luddites of Europe, rather
than the innovators.
R. FOWNES, Bromsgrove, Worcs.A REVIEW of HS2 is sensible
given that its new chairman
has advised the Government
the cost will rise from its
original £34 billion to at least
£85 billion.
It was said HS2 was needed
because the West Coast main
line from Euston was at full
capacity, but this could be
overcome by quadrupling the
25 miles of double track
between Blisworth and Rugby
at a fraction of the cost of
HS2. The billions saved could
be spent on police officers,
prisons and the elderly.
T. SHIELD, Bury, Gtr Manchester.Film studio boss’s
tearjerker ending
D
uRInG World War
II, my father, who
was a soldier in
the British Army,
was posted to the
u.S. as a liaison officer,
arranging for armoury
and tanks to be sent to
Britain on Lend Lease.
On days off, he and an Army
colleague would go in uniform
to the local airports and hitch
lifts on cargo planes going
anywhere in the country they
hadn’t previously visited.
On one of their last trips, they
ended up in Hollywood and
took a tour of MGM studios.
Suddenly, there was an
announcement stating all
filming should stop and that
all actors, studio staff and
visitors must go to Studio
One. Everyone congregated inthe studio and Sam Goldwyn,
the famous film producer,
came in.
His staff got him a chair to
stand on and he said: ‘Come
on, everybody, gather round,
gather round.’
He threw his hands in the air
and said with great emotion:
‘The war against Japan is over.
All our lovely boys and girls
are coming home.’
He then burst into tears — as
did most of his audience.
I was two years old when my
father returned home, and
when I was old enough to
understand about what he
did during the war, he told me
this story.
At the time, it probably didn’t
mean very much to me, but
now — after all these years —
it brings tears to my eyes, too.
Roger Dobbing,
West Molesey, Surrey.Picture that!
Today’s poem
Follow-up
Sign language
WHEn my granddaughter
Elle was three, her favourite
thing was to have sleepovers.
One day, she asked me if I
would like to have a sleepover
at her house.
‘There is nowhere for me to
sleep at your house, Elle,’I pointed out. ‘Well, you can
sleep in my bed, if you like,’
she replied.
Then she turned her head,
looked straight at me and
said: ‘As long as you don’t
wee in it.’
Susan Robinson, York.MORNING SERENADE
Little bird on my
balcony rail
Chirping away. You
never fail
To rouse me from my sleep
each morn
With songs announcing
a new dawn.
Happy bird, each day
I can hear
Your joyful song, so
crystal clear.
‘Life is good,’ you seem
to say,
So eager to begin
your day.
Appearing as the sky
gets bright,
Your song marking the end
of night,
Calling upon me to leave
my bed
And go out in the
world instead.
So early I wake to
your voice,
Your morning cheer leaves
me no choice.
Tomorrow, with the
rising sun,
I’ll be here waiting —
with my gun.
Judith Blatherwick,
Garvald, East Lothian.Limerick
When finding it hard
to cope,
The Church is a place
of hope.
Cathedral helter-skelter
Admittedly a belter
But is this the
slippery slope?
Peter Thomas,
Widnes, Cheshire.STRAW-TOTING:
Seen in a shop
window in
Juneau, Alaska,
by Gillian
Waters of
Wrexham.DOG GONE: My
daughter had to
have one of her
dogs put to sleep.
She misses him a
lot, so took a photo
of him on holiday
with her and put it
on her campervan
wall. This is what
her other dog did
when he spotted
it — he must
have recognised
his old friend.
Viv Moody,
Risca, Gwent.Write to: Daily Mail Letters,
2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT
email: [email protected]PETERBOROUGH
email: [email protected]
No payment, no treatment
THERE is no excuse for £150 million
in unpaid nHS bills by health tourists
(Mail). Every British resident has an
nHS number, so if someone arrives
at hospital for treatment without a
number, they should complete a
questionnaire as to how the costs
will be met.
no payment, no treatment — it’s as
simple as that. The management of
hospital trusts should be brought to
account if this is not the case.
The nHS does not have a bottom-
less pot of money. It’s taxpayers who
are funding it.
Name and address supplied.
WHY is it not possible to pay the
£150 million owed to the nHS by
heath tourists from the £14 billion
foreign aid budget?
PHIL THOMAS, Banbury, Oxon.
WHEn I was admitted to hospital in
Cape Town, South Africa, at
reception I had to put my credit card
into a machine and pay a deposit.
The full cost of my care and treat-
ment was later billed to my card.
Why can’t we do the same?
D. RYDER, address supplied.The last post
WITH his proposal to raise the
retirement age to 75, has Iain Duncan
Smith considered those of us who
work outside in all weathers?
I’m 56 and after 30 years as a postie,
my body is breaking down. The
thought of 19 years before I can draw
my pension makes me anxious.
As a woman, I had expected to
retire at 60, but this was increased to
67 in the interests of equality.
I’m all for people working beyond
retirement if they choose to, but
together with my previous jobs I
have paid my 35 years of national
Insurance, so surely I have earned
the right to retire while I am still able
to enjoy it.
Name supplied,
Hayling Island, Hants.Tax to fix social care
THAnKS to the Mail for trying
to right the wrongs of the social
care system.
As a former investment banker
with a heart, I propose a 1 per cent
stamp duty tax on sellers of houses
valued over £500,000, to go into the
social care pot.
I’m convinced that someone who
bought their house 20 years ago for
£200,000 wouldn’t begrudge £5,000 of
their £300,000 profit going to elderly
people who need care.
DAVID READ, Sissinghurst, Kent.Greener than Greta
MuCH as I admire the pluck and
tenacity of Greta Thunberg and her
young eco-warrior followers, I feel
they should recognise how much my
generation works every day for them
and the world.
We introduced the catalytic
converter, diesel particle filter and
lead-free petrol. We banned smoking
in public buildings, recycle our
household rubbish, insulate our
homes, use water-based rather than
oil-based paints, have double ortriple glazing, use energy-saving
bulbs and LED lighting, built wind
farms, decommissioned power
stations, oppose deforestation, plant
trees and clean up rivers.
We use Fair Trade products, eat
organic food, are introducing a
deposit system for plastic bottles
and write on recycled paper.
now it is Greta’s generation’s turn.
Cut back on using smartphones,
flatscreen TVs, games consoles and
tablets, which use rare earth metals
and are produced in countries with
high CO2 emissions.
Travel by bicycle or walk to school
and stop eating fast food.
KEITH BULLOCH,
Halesowen, W. Mids.Empty nests
I FELT annoyed with the parents
who say they are full of anguish at
their son or daughter departing for
university (Mail), even though I
know their feeling of loss is real.
My beautiful son Zachary took his
own life in 2012 and the gap he left
will never be filled at Christmas,
Easter or the summer holidays.
My feelings of loss only increase
when I hear others complaining that
their adult children will depart for a
few weeks for a university term
before returning at regular intervals
to the family home.
FIONA CRAWFORD, York.Meddling archbishop
I DESPAIR that the Archbishop of
Canterbury has announced he is to
join the debate on Brexit.
I suggest Justin Welby focuses his
efforts on the job he was elected and
paid to do, which is to lead the
Church of England, rather than
dabble in politics.
If and when he’s successful and the
Church of England returns to biblical
standards, then he can get involved
in secular issues.
CHRIS SIDGWICK,
Leamington Spa, Warks.Border bluffers
A FREE app on my tablet tells me
the flight number and destination of
the planes flying overhead. So the
Eu should stop procrastinating and
admit there are simple technological
means that could track shipping in
and out of Irish waters. Vehicles areHAVE you lost a relative or
friend in recent months whose
life you’d like to celebrate? Our
column on Friday’s letters page
tells the stories of ordinary
people who lived extraordinary
lives. Email a 350-word tribute
to: [email protected] or
write to: Extraordinary Lives,
Daily Mail, 2 Derry Street,
London W8 5TT. Please include a
contact phone number.CELEBRATE LIFE
OF A LOVED ONE
Your Jokes
I APPLIED for a job at Citroen.
I had to send in 2 CVs.
J. Hague,
Wakefield, W. Yorks.MY MuM was born in 1939
and her family was evacuated
from Hull to Huddersfield.
Due to rationing and
shortages, she’d never had a
banana. A game with her
mum was: ‘Ooh, Sylvia, if you
could eat anything, what
would it be?’ My mum would
always reply: ‘A banana!’
One day, word came that thegrocer had bananas, so off to
the shops they went and mum
got her first banana. As she
was lagging behind her mum,
she was asked if she liked it.
‘no, it’s horrid,’ was her reply.
Her mum turned around to
find her eating it with the skin
on. no one had told her she
had to peel it!
Beckie Brook, Halifax, W. Yorks.Out of the mouths of babes
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