Daily Mail, Thursday, March 5, 2020^ Page 71
debate
FAR from Harry welcoming Meghan to the
family she never had, she has isolated him
from the family she never wanted.
DIANE HALL, Shepperton, Surrey.
THE Queen should pay for Harry and
Meghan’s security from her vast wealth. Or
maybe Charles, who has got a bob or two,
could foot the bill.
CHRIS MASSA, Sheffield.
WHY is the British taxpayer expected to pay
for Harry and Meghan’s security? What will we
get in return?
MIKE HORGAN, Heswall, Wirral.
INSTEAD of saying Alexa, I called her Siri.
Now neither of them are talking to me.
JULIAN PERCIVAL, Paignton, Devon.
I’M WAITING for the annual excuse that
potholes are due to the exceptionally wet/
dry/cold/mild/long/short winter.
MERVYN CLARK, Crewkerne, Somerset.
SAJID JAVID says he would have cut the basic
rate of income tax by 2p in the Budget. Well,
he would say that, wouldn’t he?
BRIAN BEST, High Wycombe, Bucks.
FEELING depressed over coronavirus and
the flooding, suddenly some good news:
Emma Thompson is quitting Britain.
PETER GILBERT, Rugby, Warks.
ANITA RANI says she suffered a triple whammy
in her BBC career by being Asian, a woman
and northern. On the contrary, she’s had an
advantage over southern, white males.
Mrs ANN WILKES, Dudley, W. Mids.÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷ ÷Straight to the
point
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101, Tunbridge Wells TN1 1WX. Tel: 01892 525273. e-mail: [email protected]Should we import all our food like Singapore?
I AM aghast that Dr Tim Leunig, an
economic adviser to the
Chancellor, has said Britain should
import all its food, as Singapore
does. I lived there as a boy in the
Fifties during the Malayan
Emergency when it was marshes
and jungle. All Army rations had to
be imported. Today, it’s urbanised
with no agricultural land, so food
has to be brought in at great cost.
Britain has some of the best
agricultural land in Europe, but has
been put under pressure by
population growth.
R. A. BARNARD, London SE19.
FOR years, we have been advised tobuy local and reduce air miles, so
why is some expert suggesting we
import all of our food?
FRANCES QUIRK, Liverpool.
YES, Singapore imports 90 per cent
of its food, but its government has
set a target to produce 30 per cent
of its food production by 2030.
SANDY PRATT, Storrington, W. Sussex.
WHERE would we have been during
World War II if we did not have the
capability to produce our own food?
The population would have starved.
Our beautiful countryside would not
look like it does without farming.
Does Dr Leunig want to cover every
inch with concrete?
MAUREEN WALBEY, Shepshed, Leics.WE SHOULD be looking at
sustainable farming that would
reduce our dependency on
shipping and flying thousands of
tonnes of food here from around
the world.
BARRY DAVIES, Chorley, Lancs.
THINK of the carbon cost of
importing all our food, let alone all
the inherent dangers.
Singapore is an example of a rich
nation with little agriculture. Lack
of arable land is the reason that it
imports most of its food, not
because it is the best option.
In fact, crops are being grown on its
car park rooftops.
M. BRADBURY, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffs.encouraged to wash our hands
regularly. But what’s the last
thing we all do when leaving a
public toilet?
We grab the door handle,
which has been handled by
thousands, some of whom
may not have high hygiene
standards. I now wrap a tissue
around my hand before I push
open the door.
DOUG CULL,
Horley, Surrey.Take action now
THE P rime Minister has
announced he has a ‘battle
plan’ for coronavirus, which
will be enacted ‘if the virus
takes hold’ (Mail).
But it is clear that the virus
will spread if it is not stopped.
This is what has happened
everywhere else.
What is the point of waiting
until it takes hold and the
NHS is overwhelmed?
As the World Health Organi-
sation keeps saying, early
aggressive measures, such as
closing public spaces andlimiting travel, can halt it.
Telling people to wash their
hands is not enough.
The time for decisive action
is now.
Professor GREG PHILO,
Glasgow University.
PERHAPS it is time to reprint
the wartime poster: ‘Is your
journey really necessary?’
COLIN BULLEN,
Tonbridge, Kent.
I’M APPALLED at the new
KFC TV advert portraying
people licking their fingers.
It’s rather inappropriate at a
time when coronavirus isspreading and there are health
warnings about washing our
h a n d s p r o p e r l y a n d n o t
touching our face.
LYNDA IVES-LACY,
Harrow, Middlesex.Just bin it
THE binning of tissues will
not be successful if people
carry on spitting chewing gum
on the ground and throwing
cigarette ends, plastic bottles
and other waste on pave -
ments and the side of roads.
GERALD NATHANSON,
Chigwell, Essex.Cruel bullies
I AM shocked at the reports
a b o u t a n e w p l a y g r o u n d
‘game’ of pretending one child
has coronavirus and so is ban-
ished for the rest of playtime.
This is simply bullying.
JOHN SMITH,
Warrington, Cheshire.
DuRINg the mad cow disease
outbreak, I was in the licensed
trade. People would not buy
beef-flavoured crisps for fear
of contracting the disease.
MIKE JONES,
South Witham, Lincs.WIN our Letter Of The Week Magic Mug, courtesy of
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020 7937 7493, including
your full postal address
and telephone number.Come on, lads, get
yourself checked
Life after prostate cancer: Joannah and Edward Redmond
AS A prostate cancer survivor, I wish
to echo the words of Jimmy Tarbuck:
‘Lads, get yourself checked’ (Mail).
More than 50,000 men were diagnosed
with prostate cancer last year, making
it the most common form of cancer.
This is no doubt down to more men
getting tested as a result of the Daily
Mail’s long-running campaign for
increased awareness of this disease.
In November 2016, at the age of 60, I
went for a routine health check and, on
the advice of my wife Joannah, who is a
nurse practitioner, I requested a
prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test.
This decision saved my life. At the time
I considered myself to be in good
health, fit and well, not overweight and
with no family history of the disease. I
was active, a non-smoker and sensible
in what I ate and drank.
A few weeks later, the results of the
medical tests came back and most
were normal — in fact, they were very
good for my age. However, the PSA
levels were highly elevated.
My wife immediately booked an
appointment with our gP for a referral
to see a urologist.
After further tests and investigation,
it was discovered I had an aggressive,
fast-growing form of prostate cancer.
Surgery was the only option and,
in March 2017, I underwent a
radical prostatectomy.
Before the diagnosis, I did not have
any of the usual symptoms of thedisease. Had I not had the PSA test, I
have since been told my life would
likely have been cut short by cancer.
The good news is that, three years on, I
am healthy and well with no lasting
side-effects from the surgery.
Thankfully, the cancer has not spread,
but I am checked every three months
to ensure I remain in good health. Iam working full-time and enjoying life
with my family and friends. My wife
and I go on holiday and are planning
our retirement.
Had I not taken her advice in 2016, it
would be a totally different story.
I would say to other men: get yourself
tested; it could save your life.
EDWARD REDMOND, Northampton.