Daily Mail - 12.08.2019

Page 57

LETTERS

Protective: Doberman Vinnie is never far from Chloe’s side

DEBATE

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

‘I AM the way and the truth

and the life.’ John 14:6

BROADCASTER Michael Buerk has been

criticised for saying we should let

obese people die early to save the NHS

money (Mail).

I am morbidly obese, but would like to

think it does not make me a bad person.

I do not take drugs, drive recklessly,

take part in dangerous sports, cause

harm to anyone or act in any way

without due care and attention. So I am

not a drain on the NHS. I have always

paid National Insurance and income tax.

And with a BMI of over 40 and in my 60s,

I have retrained as a gym instructor. If

discrimination is needed, let’s have

means testing based on accrued

contribution for access to the NHS.

Personally, I would prefer healthcare to

be freely available without judgment.

ANGELA MURPHY, Liverpool.

APPARENTLY, as an overweight woman,

I should be left to die.

I have tried all my life to lose weight. I do

not over-indulge and eat healthily. I

assume Michael Buerk has remained slim

without this struggle.

I have a husband, family and friends who

love me and I have worked hard all my life

and don’t claim benefits.

I’m not lazy and have given back to

society as a teacher, so why should I be

left to die? I’m upset that yet again

someone is trying to make me feel

ashamed — well, I’m not!

SHANI KINGSLAND, Canvey Island, Essex.

MICHAEL BUERK’S comments on obesity

are offensive. For 14 years I have been

on steroids, so have gained six stone. I

have spinal problems and use a

wheelchair, so have little chance of

losing weight. I don’t drink fizzy drinks

or overeat. I’m a vegetarian who does

not smoke or take drugs. For Mr Buerk

to say ‘let the obese die early’ devalues

people purely based on their weight.

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Straight to the POINT

O ANYONE who buys bloomers

in Waitrose, then complains

about the seeds (Mail), must

have their knickers in a twist!

M. T. B. FENTON, Southport.

O BRITISH Airways — BA now

stands for B***** Awful.

J. WALMSLEY, Bury.

O JOHN McDONNELL says he

will send Jeremy Corbyn by

taxi to petition the Queen.

Surely he would get there

much quicker on his bike.

PETER RODGERS, Brighton.

O LABOUR to get into bed with

the SNP? You wave my red flag.

I’ll tickle your sporran.

P. MINALL, Leverington, Cambs.

O ONLY the British would moan

about having a five-times

world champion racing driver

heading towards his sixth title.

P. RUANE, Cannington, Somerset.

O IF YOU want to become a

model or actress, choose the

right parents, like Kate Moss’s

daughter Lila Grace.

SANDRA PARSONS, Keston, Kent.

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email: [email protected]

Do canny Scots

truly think they

can go it alone?

voted to remain in the EU is

irrelevant. The result of that

referendum applies to the whole

UK. Nicola Sturgeon should give

it a rest and start behaving in a

constructive manner on Brexit.

IAN McPHERSON,

Wirral, Merseyside.

Ignoring voters

IT’S no surprise that the SNP

would get into bed with Labour

to keep the Tories out of govern-

ment. Nicola Sturgeon claims she

will not enter a coalition with a

Labour government, but I believe

this could change if the deal

means a second referendum on

Scottish independence.

The once-in-a-generation vote

for independence has become a

demand for referendums until the

SNP wins.

As for Brexit, the SNP has the

same stance as the Lib Dems and

now Labour: disregard the 2016

vote to leave the EU, accept only a

vote to remain in the EU, then ban

any further attempts to leave.

England, Scotland, Wales and

Northern Ireland deserve better

than the ragtag bunch of

politicians we have. Voting is

totally irrelevant, as those who

lose refuse to accept the result.

JAMES WIGNALL,

Accrington, Lancs.

Save our pennies

AS CHAIRMAN of Mr Simms

Olde Sweet Shoppes, I worry

about the prospect of losing our

1p coin (Mail). This would lead to

another hidden tax rise by

rounding the price of products up

rather than down in a time of

reduced profit margins.

Will children no longer be able to

buy sugary treats for a penny, 2p,

3p and 4p? So how is it that our

country, which is seeking

independence and taking back

control from Europe, can decide

to take away our smallest coin?

MARTIN PEET, Eccleshall, Staffs.

Give Rooney a break

THE coverage of the deal between

Derby County football club and a

betting company misses the

point of where any blame for this

state of affairs should be laid.

While more than half the clubs in

the top two flights of English

football have sponsorship deals

with betting companies, no one

club or player can be blamed for

taking the money on offer.

F1 drivers were not vilified for

driving cars sponsored by tobacco

firms. The issue was dealt with by

banning the advertisements.

Similar action is needed by the

football authorities. Meanwhile,

hands off Derby County and

Wayne Rooney.

KEVIN CASSIDY,

Holbrook, Derbys.

Pulp fiction

THE list of the top 50 best-read

books (Mail) is a sad indictment

of our education system. Cheesy

trash about fairies, witches,

warlocks and trolls is what people

read most.

There are no great French,

Russian or Scandinavian classics

on the list and only two American

classics, The Catcher In The Rye

and Adventures Of Huckleberry

Finn. No Kafka, Dante, Balzac,

Dostoevsky, Voltaire, Roth or

Wolfe. Just one Dickens novel, the

marvellous A Tale Of Two Cities,

but no Shakespeare or Trollope.

For the most part, the 50 books

have little literary merit or insight

into the human condition.

PAUL CHARLES COOK,

Huddersfield, W. Yorks.

Super secretaries

THE attitude of sexist male

lawyers is bad enough (Mail), but

I’m also disappointed that

solicitor Lucy Mills says she has

lost count of the meetings she has

attended with her male boss in

which she has been asked if she

was his secretary (Mail).

Being a secretary is a perfectly

valid occupation that is worthy of

respect. If every secretary in the

UK walked out, how would most

businesses continue to operate —

particularly lawyers, who receive

and return a huge amount of

correspondence and documents.

I have been a secretary and I

know that without people like me,

there would be no one to under-

stand the mysteries of the various

programs on the office computer,

to deal with the post, type

business correspondence and

documents, keep filing up to date,

field telephone calls, make sure

there is enough stationery, book

appointments, travel and hotels,

organise refreshments and do all

the nitty-gritty jobs that are

below the notice and gratitude of

professionals or managers.

It’s not demeaning or an insult

to be asked whether you’re the

secretary. It’s just one of many

stupid, thoughtless assumptions

made by some men.

JENNIFER KENNY,

address supplied.

AS A Scotsman living in England,

I am appalled that seemingly

intelligent people would want to

end the most successful union in

history. Does Scotland truly

believe it can go it alone as an

independent country?

Westminster should remind

my countrymen how dependent

they are on largesse from central

government.

Perhaps they should be told they

would be subject to the euro — if

the EU allowed them entry after

independence — or would have to

create their own currency, which

could only be backed by dwindling

North Sea oil reserves.

Regardless of claims by the

SNP’s Nicola Sturgeon and her

band of opportunists, I still believe

those in the land of my birth

are far more pragmatic than

politicians grabbing soundbites.

Scotland could no more survive

as a truly independent nation

than the Isle of Wight could.

Scotland has a voice only because

it is part of the UK.

BOB MACDONALD GRUTE,

Newquay, Cornwall.

I WOULD be more than happy to

let Scotland go its own way — as

long as it realises independence

means just that.

How is it going to support itself

financially once it cuts the ties

with England?

Cherry-picking the bits it wants,

but leaving England to pick up

the bills, should not be an option.

But I am sure the canny Scots

have thought this through.

MARGARET NODEN,

Orihuela, Costa Blanca, Spain.

Bad losers

THE SNP got what it wanted by

achieving a referendum on

independence. The Scottish

people voted to remain part of the

UK. Exactly what part of that

democratic process does Nicola

Sturgeon fail to understand?

Assuming she gets her way with

a second referendum and the

result is the same, will she then

push for more referendums? The

fact that a majority in Scotland

I AM a responsible pet owner

who is saddened and frustrated

by dogs being depicted as

vicious beasts. The problem is

irresponsible people who do not

take time to find out how to care

for the animals they own.

The public needs educating

about breeds, training, choosing

a dog and even walking their pet

in a responsible manner.

Sadly, I encounter prejudice

when I am with my beautiful

Doberman, Vinnie. I chose this

breed because the dogs are

loyal, gentle and beautiful. Yes,

like any breed of dog, large,

medium or small, they have the

ability to be dangerous, which is

why training is so important.

My heart goes out to all those

who have been hurt, seen their

children harmed or their live-

stock frightened and killed. Let’s

stop such tragedies by educat-

ing irresponsible dog owners

rather than targeting responsi-

ble owners and innocent dogs.

Vinnie has grown up with my

daughter Chloe and is ever-

loving, always on the look-out

and by our sides. When Chloe

was ill this year, he watched over

her constantly.

Mrs ANN-MARIE PETFORD,

Sandhurst, Berks.

Blame feckless owners, not dogs

Daily Mail, Monday, August 12, 2019