Children are aching for school, not jolly days out at the zoo
i AM furious that the Government has decided to abandon the return of most children to school, but is allowing zoos and theme parks to reopen.
What kind of message is that sending out? That education does not matter, but at least you can have a nice day out?
A friend’s youngest child is of the age group that has been able to return to school but their older brother is devastated he can’t go back. he has asked his mum: ‘Why doesn’t the school want me?’
Another mum is concerned about her Year 7 child’s mental health. Months in isolation, unable to see friends and extended family, have been made worse by feeling abandoned by school.
What if nothing is different in september? it’s not as if the virus is going to disappear. Are children going to be told their education doesn’t matter?
The Government and schools should be working day and night to ensure all pupils get the same chance of an education. HANNAH REEVE, address supplied. i AM shocked education has been cancelled until september.
if social distancing means 30 children can’t be in a classroom, split each year group into two halves who attend on alternate days or just in the morning or afternoon. half a term’s education is better than none at all.
And cancel the summer holiday. Teachers and children who have been at home since March could go back, with the school year finishing at the end of August.
They could take a week’s break before beginning the new school year in september as normal.
Come on, teachers, you have had three months on full pay, so it’s time to get back to school. JOHN & KATE MANNING,
Wittersham, Kent.
Silent majority
i’VE discovered i’m part of the silent majority. i don’t have to display brutal, vociferous, hectoring or violent opposition to make a difference. in this free country, we each have a right to our own thoughts.
We’re all judged in one way or another, by colour, race, gender, clothes, hair colour, language, accent, disability, ability and education, but don’t look at me and think you know all about me.
i will use the secret ballot to invoke change. i’ll abide by the majority decision, even if i don’t agree with it.
Name and address supplied.
Well done NHS
MY husband has an autoimmune disease and has received excellent treatment from his GP and the Royal United hospitals Bath during lockdown.
he’s had blood tests and scans as normal and the local chemist delivers his medication. Thank you, Nhs, you’ve been brilliant during a difficult time.
Mrs A. SEAGER, Devizes, Wilts.
You CAN stop gambling
i used to think gambling was a way of making easy money and taking my mind off the stresses and strains of life.
i started with small bets but then escalated to taking out loans and credit cards to cover my losses. i couldn’t watch a football match without having a bet and would then spend the whole day chasing what i’d lost.
Gambling has had a negative impact on my mental health as well as my finances. Now that i have faced my addiction and got help, i want to let others know that charities such as GamCare are there for you.
The Premier League is about to restart and with it the temptation to bet. if you are struggling with gambling, remember you are not alone and can beat this.
Name supplied, Stockport, Gtr Manchester.
Living on the edge
When the houses at Eastchurch and all along the coastline on the isle of sheppey were built decades ago, they were not near the crumbling cliffs, so don’t condemn their owners as foolish (Letters).
in the mid-1960s, a schoolfriend was living in the Warden Point post office when overnight a landslide took away 100ft of the garden, leaving them on the cliff edge.
And it has happened again. The poor mother of four at Eastchurch (Mail) whose house was destroyed would have thought she had many years before she was in danger of losing her home, but the nature of cliff landslides is that they come at short notice. Even though she lost all her possessions, she was lucky to get her family out safely.
LIZ JACK, Redbourn, Herts.
Pothole rage
i’M A born-again cyclist since lockdown started and have to say how shocked i am at the state of the roads. i’ve had to swerve around dangerous potholes into the path of traffic.
Councils, do your duty, fill potholes and cut back overhanging trees that lash cyclists.
some drivers seem to forget they have wing mirrors when they overtake me and i am in danger of being gassed by exhaust fumes.
i think i’d be safer behind the wheel than on two wheels.
ADRIAN BONE, Leyland, Lancs.
Barbecue blues
hOW fantastic that we have seen the longest period without using coal-fired power stations.
What a pity this achievement has been counterbalanced by the increased use of garden log burners, barbecues, chimineas, firepits and wood-burning pizza ovens that are used without any thought of the air pollution they cause.
DAVID BRIGGS, Whitby, N. Yorks.
Where’s Mr Perfect?
WhY can’t a glamorous, mid-life woman find a decent man (Mail)? i’d like to ask why can’t a mature, secure widower like me find a woman who has realistic expectations about a man?
For a year i was on the world’s largest online dating site with a profile that ticked all the boxes.
Based on careful readings of their profiles, i sent messages to a number of age- appropriate women. Only a handful replied, mostly with shopping lists of things they would not tolerate.
i went on three mediocre dates, but it was obvious that the women had such high expectations that no man would be capable of meeting them.
My final post on the site was: ‘Dear ladies, many thanks for an interesting experience. i wish you much luck in finding a gentleman with the looks and charm of Brad Pitt, the wealth of Jeff Bezos, the humour of Lenny henry and the compassion of the Dalai Lama.’
CLYDE SAWYER, London E1.