LETTERS

Toothless Budget

OUR public services desperately lack state funding, so why was this not addressed in the Budget?

Funding research into driverless cars is a waste of money and I can see little benefit in the white elephant that is hS2. I appreciate there is only so much money to go around, but surely the NHS, which the Chancellor Philip hammond said everyone was proud of, is in crisis and needs more financial help than was on offer.

I can’t see why we spend billions abroad in foreign aid when our own house is in such disarray.

JOHN ROBERTS, Bradford, W. Yorks. SUCH a pity the Chancellor has postponed the date when we will be debtfree, citing the need to pay deserving nurses, among others, while continuing to allocate billions to the EU ransom and wasteful projects such as hS2 and overseas aid.

J. LONG, Cheltenham, Glos. RATHER than the NHS bosses complaining that the extra £3 billion promised in the Budget is not enough, they should be investigating who sanctioned buying drugs with a mark-up of 6,000 per cent.

JUDY GOODWIN, Altofts, W. Yorks.

Goodbye to savings

CALLING for an interest rate rise of 5 per cent (Letters) is ridiculous. We would see huge numbers defaulting on their mortgages. A low interest rate is a necessity as without it, the economic e system would collapse.

the silly people who put their money in the bank rather than investing it in property or land need to stop whingeing about low savings rates. Saving is a thing of the past.

TONY JUSTICE, Rossendale, Lancs.

Why I wear a hijab

OFSTED is to talk to girls who wear the hijab in school (Mail) and chief inspector of schools Amanda Spielman says wearing a headscarf could be interpreted as ‘sexualisation’.

there is no Islamic requirement for primary schoolgirls to wear a headscarf. It is required only when they reach physical maturity. however, if a primary schoolgirl chooses to wear a headscarf, this is her choice.

When I was growing up, I saw my independent, i strong and determined hijabi-wearing mother bringing up four British Muslim children without any a insecurity about her heritage. She S didn’t allow others to dictate what she could wear or do. I also saw the mothers of my friends. Maybe Ms Spielman thinks I should have looked up to them as my role models and grown up wanting to wear high heels, mini-skirts m and low-cut tops.

the hijab has nothing to do with sexualisation; s it’s a symbol of women’s empowerment. I hope this explanation saves anyone from having to interrogate little Muslim girls.

SALMA KHAN, London SW18.

Phone wars

LIKE Janet Littlewood, I don’t want to be a slave to a mobile phone (Letters), much to the chagrin of my wife and family, who complain they can’t contact me wherever I am.

But as I have repeatedly told them: ‘Phone the golf club and the course marshal will be dispatched to find me — however, make sure you do this only in an emergency.’ JOHN HOLDSWORTH,

Sandwich, Kent. THE younger generation treat a mobile as their best friend: talking into it incessantly, sending emails and playing games while ignoring what is going on around them.

Will this lead to crooked necks and a generation with no idea how to socialise?

MAGGIE NEW, Seaford, E. Sussex.

Unlikely lads

HOW sad to read of the death of rodney Bewes. Like his co-star James Bolam, I grew up in Sunderland around the same time as him and I, too, left for London in the Sixties.

When the TV show was first broadcast, I was keen to see how it would portray the North-East.

I was disappointed to see the story was set in Newcastle. Bolam’s Sunderland accent is very different to one from tyneside. Worse still was the Yorkshire accent of Bewes, who was playing a Geordie. their childhood friend thelma (Brigit Forsyth) had an Edinburgh accent.

Was the show cast by Southerners who didn’t know the difference between a stottie cake and a cod lot?

NEIL WILLIAMS, Reading, Berks.

Bring back service

I’M ONE of those who hate selfservice tills (Mail). Automation is destroying personal service.

I have shut a bank account because there is no longer a local branch. I do not want to bank online and I don’t get a response if I write a letter.

I have had difficulty getting a statement from my electricity supplier, and when a delivery went amiss, I found the automated phone system was only geared up to selling, not problem solving. KENNETH PETERS, Nursling, Hants.

Thanks for nothing

HOW I agree with richard Littlejohn that thanksgiving has nothing to do with us. It’s the same with Mother’s Day, an American import to get money out of us and nothing to do with Mothering Sunday.

When did we stop saying children and not kids, lorry drivers and not truckers, motor cyclists and not bikers, chips and not french fries, and chemists and not pharmacies? It is bad enough being bombarded with U.S. TV programmes and films without having the language corrupted as well. SPENCER BROTHERTON, Eye, Cambs

Too old to drive

MY HEART goes out to the family of the man killed when an elderly driver mowed him down (Mail).

My family and I were worried about my 93-year- old dad, who drove at

20mph in the middle of the road. When his doctor suggested he gave up, he told her he’d been driving since before she was born and was determined to carry on.

I contacted the DVLA, but they could do nothing. We tried the heavy approach and told Dad he might kill someone, but even this had no effect.

The next thing I knew he had burst three tyres mounting the pavement after swerving to avoid another car.

I took him to a different doctor, who was more direct about the dangers and he finally caved in and agreed to sell his car. My family are so grateful we persuaded Dad to give up driving. We could never have forgiven ourselves if he had caused an accident.

Name and address supplied.

Hamster lives again

I FOUND out the hard way that hamsters hibernate (Mail). When my son was seven, he had a hamster called Pippa. One morning he was distraught when he found her lying rigid in her cage.

We lined an orange juice carton with cotton wool, placed Pippa inside and buried her in the garden.

Speaking later to my sisterin-law, she asked: ‘Are you sure she hasn’t hibernated?’

My husband rushed to dig up Pippa. We gave her a drop of brandy, wrapped her in cotton wool, put her near a radiator and hoped for the best. When we next checked on her, Pippa was running around the room. Several weeks later, she ‘hibernated’ again. This time we took no chances and put her cage in the garage until it became obvious she had, in fact, died.

For the second time, we conducted a little funeral service for her. I still feel guilty for burying Pippa alive.

ANN CANTY, Bletchley, Bucks.