36 1GM Thursday December 3 2020 | the times
Letters to the Editor
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1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GFwill be less dismissive of the idea.
May I suggest a low-tech solution
that is entirely paperless and which
would circumnavigate this
government’s organisational
ineptitude: we should deploy the East
Timor election practice of ink on a
finger of those being vaccinated. The
colour of course to be subject to
parliamentary approval.
Leslie Scott
SunderlandSir, In your leading article (“Hard
Pass”, Dec 2) on “passports” for those
vaccinated against the coronavirus,
you write that “it is the government’s
job to facilitate” those businesses that
wish to demand proof of vaccination
to gain entry. Demanding such proof
is one thing, though I have never
been asked for proof of vaccination
for far more dangerous diseases than
Covid-19 to gain entry to any business
in the past. However, you then write
that if businesses do not deny people
entry on these grounds this will “raise
issues of licensing, policing and
enforcement” — the implication
being that the state should mandate
businesses to require people to show
proof of vaccination at risk of losing
their licence. This means that thoseare gathering in the subsidy for
hedgetrimming (£8 per 100 metres for
one side of a hedge) before we leave
the EU? Here is a small example of
environmental gobbledegook being
used to justify a bung to farmers who
get this subsidy whether the hedge is
adjacent to the public highway or not.
My interest is the insect life that
overwinters in these hedges and
which has little chance of surviving
the trauma of modern trimming
techniques. I do hope that George
Eustice, the environment secretary,
can see that the damage being
inflicted on our insect habitat cannot
justify the retention of this scheme
unless the hedges are next to roads.
Chris Speke
ChesterSir, Charlie Flindt (letter, Dec 2)
should beware: a shortage of locally
produced food may well result in an
avalanche of cheap imports from
countries that have appalling animal
welfare standards and use injurious
pesticides and fertilisers.
Wendy Attridge
Stroud, Gloswho have not been vaccinated will
suffer a clear disadvantage as a result
of refusing medical treatment, which
goes against the most basic principles
of bioethics. That being vaccinated
may benefit others is irrelevant: my
giving blood or my organs will benefit
others but my refusal to do so should
not result in losing my rights as a free
citizen. The proportion of British
people willing to take the vaccine is
already comparatively high and we
can return to normality without
resorting to measures unbefitting a
free society.
Alex Scholes
EdinburghSir, I note the appeals from local areas
that have low infection rates to be
granted a better tier than
neighbouring areas with higher
infection rates (“Johnson hit by
biggest rebel vote as MPs pass new
tier rules”, Dec 2). However, granting
such appeals might have unintended
consequences. Would there not be a
flooding of people from high tiers into
low tiers, to get their drinks or meals?
That, surely, is not what people in
low-infection areas wish for.
Mike Coe
Mylor Bridge, CornwallHaving a gas
Sir, Matthew Parris writes of his
difficulty getting through to British
Gas (Notebook, Dec 2). It is no better
for the company’s own employees.
Having informed me that I must have
a smart meter fitted, British Gas sent
a fitter who encountered a problem
and attempted to phone his colleague
for advice. After he was kept hanging
on for 20 minutes I said that as an
employee he should have a hotline.
He replied that this was the hotline.
Anna Webster
Poulton-le-Fylde, LancsSir, Many of the suggestions to
improve rugby union as a spectator
sport (Stuart Barnes, “My blueprint to
get rugby out of the doldrums”, Sport,
Nov 30, and letter, Dec 2) risk making
the game’s laws even more complex.
A simple change, and one that would
preserve kicking as a strategic play,
would be to restrict the number of
kicks between set pieces to two or
three per side.
Dr David Cottam
Montauriol, Lot-et-Garonne, FranceHidden meaning
Sir, As a church musician I was
intrigued by the Times2 Crossword
on Tuesday (Dec 1). One clue referred
explicitly to the “palindromic
composer” Reger. However,
apparently non-musical clues yielded
at least nine other composers of
varying degrees of fame, namely
Argue, Field, Gandhi, Gibbons, Glass,
Ireland, Lambert, Ravel and Stainer.
The compiler, if not already a
musician, may have a hidden calling.
David Hardie
Head of music, Birmingham CathedralBright side of life
Sir, In her excellent article “What my
mother taught me about parenting”,
(Dec 2), Alice Thomson suggests that
we should try to think of “the funniest
and most uplifting moments of 2020
to tell the next generation”. I failed to
check the contents of a letter sent to
me by my credit card company before
microwaving it for safety, and was
rather embarrassed to then have to
explain to the company why I needed
to replace a melted card.
Wendy Ball
OxfordCorrections and
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Challenging China
Sir, I agree with Tom Tugendhat
(Thunderer, Dec 1) that we can and
should play an important role in
association with other countries in
challenging China. He points to two
breaches of the Sino-British Joint
Declaration on Hong Kong but I am
disappointed that he merely affirms
the actions already taken, which
amount to financial sanctions and
hot-air rhetoric from the prime
minister and foreign secretary. Why is
Mr Tugendhat not encouraging the
referral of the treaty breaches to the
International Court of Justice?
Although I doubt that China would
be frightened by such a move, I do
think that an adverse judgment would
strongly affect its credibility.
Jeff Wilner
Didsbury, Manchester
Vaccination passports and the search for truth
Sir, Sir Keir Starmer (“Prime minister
must tell us the truth on impact of
pandemic”, Comment, Dec 2) lays at
the prime minister’s door the
continued failure to fix the system of
test, trace and isolate — a system that
is a torch in the dark until the
coronavirus vaccine has been widely
distributed. Such a system would have
worked optimally when levels of
infection were low, earlier this year.
Had the test, trace and isolate
system been run from the start by
UK public health directors, it might
have reduced the incidence of cases
of Covid-19 infection and related
deaths. This represents a serious
missed opportunity.
Professor Ian Kunkler
Consultant in clinical oncology at the
Edinburgh Cancer Centre, Edinburgh
UniversitySir, Michael Gove’s dismissal of
vaccination passports is surely
premature (“Vaccine will go on GP
file but there’s ‘no passport plan’ ”,
News, Dec 2). The clamour of the
public to get an all-clear and be able
to demonstrate the fact as life
returns to normal next year will
surely make him regret his comment.
It’s more than likely the other nationsSir, As a farmer of 140 acres I am
becoming extremely tired of being
tarred with the anti-environment
brush. While trying to produce stuff
and make a living, which incidentally
would be next to impossible without
subsidies and outside income, we
always try to be aware of everything
that shares our land. We use no sprays
and not too much fertilizer, do not
plough our old pastures and keep good
hedges. We thus do very little harm.
The two things that have done
greatest ecological damage here are
the explosion in the number of
badgers, which has wiped out all the
ground-nesting birdlife, and now the
long-feared arrival of ash dieback,
which has left me looking at 1,000
dead trees. Perhaps those responsible
for allowing the importation of ash
saplings would care to comment.
Ian Smith
Biddestone, WiltsSir, Here in Cheshire and Shropshire,
counties with many miles of
hedgerows, it has been noticeable that
trimming has been in overdrive since
September. Could it be that farmersFuture of farming after the Brexit deal Improving rugby
from the times december 3, 1920MURDERED
CADETS’
HOMECOMING
Lockdown breakers
Sir, I was appalled by the article in
Times2 condoning flagrant breaches
of Covid-19 regulations by celebrities
and others (“Rita Ora isn’t the only
lockdown rule-breaker: it’s
everywhere”, Dec 2). In one case the
participants were over 70; they should
certainly have known better. Surely
this behaviour puts lives at risk. Kate
Spicer seems to imply that everyone is
doing it. From observation of my own
circle of friends this is undoubtedly
not the case: most of them are strictly
adhering to the rules.
Helen Talbot
Bromley, Kentthetimes.co.uk/archiveTake the medicine
Sir, Further to Lord Robertson of Port
Ellen’s letter (Dec 2) on anthrax
vaccination, before the start of the
Iraq war in 2003 we were required to
take Nerve Agent Pretreatment
System (Naps) tablets to mitigate the
effects of a nerve agent attack. A few
objected initially that medical
treatment should never be
compulsory but this was not medical
treatment, rather a “force protection”
measure to prevent casualties
becoming a burden or, for example, a
helicopter pilot succumbing and
endangering his passengers. I would
argue that the coronavirus vaccine is,
similarly, a “force protection” measure
and should be seen in the same light.
Lieutenant General Sir James Dutton
Commander of 3 Commando Brigade
Royal Marines in 2003
Sir, Lord Robertson of Port Ellen
believes that government ministers
should publicly take the coronavirus
vaccine to encourage others to do the
same. I suggest that this will have the
reverse effect. The government’s
standing is at rock bottom at present
(with the possible exception of Rishi
Sunak). No one in Boris Johnson’s
cabinet would persuade me if I were
unsure. Far better to ask a few
well-respected personalities such as
Joe Wicks, Lewis Hamilton, Adele or
Marcus Rashford to be filmed being
vaccinated; should they agree, the
overall take-up would be transformed.
Annie Peake
Ledbury, Herefordshire
Convivial Cromwell
Sir, I always enjoy Rachel Sylvester’s
columns but I disagree with her
picture of Cromwell the Puritan
(“Boris Johnson’s cavalier instinct has
gone Puritan”, Dec 1; letter, Dec 2).
The Puritan-dominated parliament of
1644 did abolish Christmas but nine
years before Cromwell became Lord
Protector. Cromwell was not a killjoy;
he loved music, enjoyed feasting and
drinking and was a devotee of field
sports. Antonia Fraser gives a very
rounded picture of Cromwell in
Cromwell, Our Chief of Men (1973).
We should in any case judge
historical figures by the standards of
their time. Boris Johnson would
probably have loved the company of
the Lord Protector: he had a great
sense of humour and enjoyed the
company of women and people of
unconventional views.
Brian Withnall
Wenhaston, SuffolkLetters to The Times must be exclusive
and may be edited. Please include a full
address and daytime telephone number.
Cork was a city of mourning today
for the members of the Auxiliary
Division of the RIC who were killed
at Kilmichael, near Dunmanway, on
Sunday. The military authorities had
asked that all business should be
suspended in the city from 11am to
2pm as a mark of respect for the
dead, whose bodies were passing in
funeral procession through the
streets, and not one shop in the city
remained open. The bodies of the 15
murdered cadets and the constable
who shared their fate in the ambush
lay at Macroom Castle until this
morning, when they were brought toCork by motor-lorries. The funeral
procession consisted of eight
Crossley tenders, each containing
two coffins enshrouded with the
Union Jack — the flag which the
men it covered had helped to carry
to victory in France. Resting on the
flags were tributes of flowers from
the widows or other relatives of the
murdered men — wreaths of snow-
white chrysanthemums, mingled
with beautiful violets, simple crosses,
and in a few instances a sprig of
holly and ivy. At Victoria Cross a sad
but imposing procession was headed
by two lorries of armed troops,
followed by two other lorries of
armed police. Then came an
advanced guard of armed military,
followed by their brass band playing
funeral dirges, and next the eight
motor-lorries with the coffins. Police
cadets acted as pall bearers to their
dead comrades. Then came about
100 members of the RIC with rifles
reversed. Next came a military firingparty, and the rear was brought up
by more lorries of armed police and
military. The sidewalks were lined by
thousands of the citizens, the vast
majority of whom uncovered their
heads while the coffins were passing.
It is stated that a few of those who
failed to do so had their hats or caps
knocked off and trampled on. The
procession arrived without incident
at Custom House Quay, beside
which a destroyer was drawn up.
Members of the Auxiliary force and
the RIC carried the coffins on board,
laying them aft in rows. The grey
destroyer left its moorings silently.
All the officers and men, both police
and military, remained at the salute
while the “Last Post” was sounded,
and the destroyer proceeded down
the river on her way to Pembroke
Dock, whence the coffins will be sent
to the homes of the dead for burial.Lost luxuries
Sir, As well as pens (“Puzzling
shortage”, letter, Dec 2), another
shortage problem I have endured
during this long pandemic has been
the lack of shower caps from hotel
bathrooms. Unused shower caps are
very handy for covering plates and
bowls in the fridge; afterwards they
can be washed and recycled.
I yearn for the tempting basket of
“necessities” in a hotel — any hotel.
Heather Marks
Biddenham, Beds