LETTERS

Widening pay gap

WHY are teachers getting a pay rise of 3.5 per cent while the Armed Forces get 2 per cent (Mail)? Is it more dangerous to face a pupil with a sharp pencil than an enemy whose sole aim is to kill you?

Why do governments undervalue the Services? If there are floods, fires or other emergencies, they don’t call out the teachers. No, it’s the soldiers, sailors and firemen who step up to the mark.

They never question what they are asked to do, but do it willingly. All teachers are asked to do is educate what is turning out to be a generation scared of their own shadows.

C. LILLYWHITE, Clanfield, Hants. COME off it, teachers. Why do you deserve a pay rise? A 35-hour week and 14 weeks of holidays mean your hourly rate is enviable compared to nurses and the police.

A. MORRIS, Rugby, Warks.

From pillar box to post

AS THE wife and mother of postmen, I do not agree with the criticism of Royal Mail ( Letters). While the bosses are getting over- the- top salaries, postmen are under stress.

My son is adored by his customers and takes great pride in his work, but he is off with depression for the second time. The management is poor, and staff shortages mean he has been over-burdened with work.

Would you like to get up at 4.30am and finish at 3.30pm without a meal break, and have to use a hedge or hope a kind customer will allow you to use their toilet?

Name and address supplied. IN VICTORIAN England, there were six to eight postal deliveries a day in large towns and cities.

Now, with the benefit of high-speed road and rail links along with computerised sorting systems, the service has been whittled down to one delivery a day — all in the name of progress and efficiency.

I wonder how long it will be before deliveries are weekly.

MIKE PEPPER, Bolton, Lancs. IN THOSE efficient olden days before Royal Mail was privatised, a Sunday collection was made from my town’s mailbox at noon.

Anxious to post an important letter before the deadline, I arrived at 11am to find the box being emptied. When I queried this, the postman replied: ‘If I waited until midday, it would be blooming full.’

EDDIE DAWES, Hednesford, Staffs.

Heated issue

IN WINTER, pensioners receive a £100 heating allowance. Surely during a heatwave, we should receive a cooling allowance.

Electric fans are expensive to buy and run all day. Fear of high electricity bills could lead to heat- related illnesses among the elderly.

Mrs C. PALMER, Somerton, Somerset. HAVING just returned to Britain after living in Andalucia for 11 years, I have to laugh at the different approaches to the heat. In Spain, 45c (113f) is not unusual. Summer starts in May and lasts until October, so 35c (95f) — the highest it got in Britain last week — is a cold snap.

There is no namby-pamby advice about not going out in the sun. People use their common sense, wear a sunhat and take advantage of the drinking fountains you find in most Spanish streets. Get a grip! MALCOLM HIGGINS,

Settle, N. Yorks. THE heatwave is bringing forth a

Ghost towns

bumper vintage crop from English vineyards (Mail). In the event of a No Deal Brexit leading to food rationing, at least the wine is catered for.

TERRY COATES, Birmingham. IN 1976, public transport, cars and offices did not have air conditioning. How on earth did we cope? We opened windows and stayed in the shade where possible.

Some unlucky people had to queue in the sun for water from standpipes. I don’t recall that thousands died because we were left to make our own decisions. Compare that to today when the powers-that-be see fit to warn us that the sun is hot. GERRY HUGGETT, Cowfold, W. Sussex. THE historic centre of Bath has been turned into a ghost town with 42 empty shops (Mail). The same thing is happening all over the country.

Shops that have been part of a town for years have closed because of soaring business rates.

Firms move in for the few months they are given the unit rent-free and then yet another chain coffee shop takes over. Charging a ridiculous amount for a cup of froth, they pay their overworked staff the minimum wage while using the system to avoid paying tax on their profits.

ROBIN HALE, Bedford.

Bridging the age gap

IT’S unfair to accuse the older generation of intolerance (Letters). Young people and ‘oldies’ should learn from one another. We need tolerance and respect on both sides.

Listening is a rare virtue in these days of manic activity. Young people bring energy and much-needed fun into older lives, while the older generation can offer the wisdom of lessons learned.

Both generations can benefit from shared experiences. If we can find common ground by understanding our differences, it will be a better world for all of us. MARY WINDSOR, Mansfield Woodhouse, Notts.

Brexit free-for-all

THOSE advocating Brexit have fed us the myth that we can have it every which way: freedom to strike our own deals and access to a single market.

The EU was never going to go against its four cherished principles. Rightly or wrongly, it believes that abandoning them will be more detrimental to its existence than losing trade with the UK.

The Prime Minister is criticised for looking for a half-way house on a customs union, and the Chequers plan is expected to be rejected by the EU. The only alternative to compromise is No Deal and the ensuing chaos. Was that what we signed up for by voting Leave?

ANDREW DAVIS, Stanmore, Middlesex. I NOMINATE Theresa May for membership of the Magic Circle. With my own eyes, I saw the finest political trick pulled off in front of and to the amazement of millions of Leave fans. Chanting her famous ‘Brexit means Brexit’ mantra, with a wave of her hand she made two ministers disappear and plucked a three-quarter version of Remain out of thin air.

GEORGE MANN, Nottingham.

Sign of the times

HOW sad for autograph hunters that signatures are going out of fashion (Mail). Cricketer Don Bradman gave Write to: Daily Mail Letters, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TT email: letters@dailymail.co.uk