The nightmare scenario there’s no need to face

It’S December 2051. Storm Greta blows in from norway and strong winds shut down the wind farms.

the wave-powered generators can’t operate and, it being winter, the solar farms have only a minimum output.

as the demand for electricity rises, the national Grid starts to fail. the nuclear power stations planned in the early 2020s are still not on line and all the coal power stations were decommissioned decades ago.

there are brown-outs — local reductions in the availability of electrical power — as well as nationwide blackouts caused by damage to power lines.

the effect on families is serious. Gas boilers were banned in the 2030s, as were wood burners and other fossil-fuel methods of heating. heat pumps can’t work without electricity.

In the cold and dark, people wait for power to be reconnected. tap water is unavailable due to a lack of power at treatment plants.

electric cars start to grind to a halt all over the country. Drivers are stranded because they have to wait until their vehicle can be taken to a charging point, unlike bringing a jerrycan to the petrol or diesel cars we used to have.

Food supplies start to run out. Yes, large diesel lorries can reach the distribution hubs, but the smaller electric-powered lorries and vans are unable to operate.

the power companies do what they can but are hampered because their power-less company vehicles can’t get to the line breakages.

a nightmare scenario? as Storm arwen has shown us, we can’t afford to have an overreliance on eco power sources that are unable to work in extreme weather. We need alternative forms of home heating and hybrid vehicles.

TED FLINTOFF, West Hallam, Derbys. I’D lIKe to plead with Boris to make one more U-turn. Please reinstate the state pension triple lock. I am sitting at home wearing a fleece but am still freezing. I’ve been advised by my energy supplier to increase my monthly direct debit by £50. Where is that money going to come from?

ALLAN HOLDEN, Claycross, Derbys.

It’s not all about Covid

GP ReSOURceS should not be diverted from the vital day-to-day care of patients in order to prioritise another covid jab drive.

With the vast majority doublejabbed and the more vulnerable and elderly already given a booster, there is widespread protection. Boosters for all other adults, who are at less risk from a severe case of covid, does not justify reducing the levels of care for all other health conditions.

It is also short-term thinking because strokes and heart attacks due to a lack of monitoring will strain hospital admissions and the social care system.

KATE HAWKER, Sherborne, Dorset.

Medical check-ups

I WaS surprised at the suggestion that GPs are involved in basic patient monitoring.

For years, my local medical

centre has run clinics staffed by auxiliaries, nurses and sometimes a pharmacist.

It’s simple stuff based on measuring height, weight, waist, pulse rate, blood pressure, alcohol consumption and a blood test.

I have high blood pressure and my recent review was done by a nurse in ten minutes. I then had a text from the practice pharmacist, who had checked the results and said everything was fine.

R. HAVENHAND, Nantwich, Cheshire.

Magnificent nurses

theRe shouldn’t be a reduction in appointments due to GPs having to give covid jabs.

Despite being well trained to do so, they are not the driving force administering jabs.

that has fallen to practice nurses, who are doing a magnificent job, leaving the GPs to do their own work.

RICHARD MARTIN, York. aRe army medics being brought in to assist with the booster being paid £15 per jab, like our already handsomely rewarded GPs?

D. WATERMAN, Fareham, Hants.

Joy of keeping fit

I aGRee there is no age limit on being fit (letters).

I am a 77-year-old retired carpenter and every other day, after warming up with 50 lunges, I do 80 press-ups, 30 curls, squats, 45 sit-ups, a one-minute plank and work out with 2kg weights. I even do exercises while my porridge is cooking in the microwave.

I would recommend exercise to anyone of a certain age. Start slowly and you will be amazed at how much better you feel.

JOHN TILLER, Seaford, E. Sussex.

Oh, that Tommy!

cOnGRatUlatIOnS to newly knighted Sir tommy Steele.

I grew up near his family home in South-east london and went to the same school as one of his sisters, Sandra.

I remember asking my grandmother if she knew tommy. all she said was: ‘that little s***!’

It may have had something to do with milk bottles going missing from her doorstep. happy days.

ALAN TURPIN, London SE13.

O-levels

SORRY, classics expert Professor Dame Mary Beard, you are wrong about the pronunciation of the new covid variant (Mail). It’s not ‘oh-my-cron’. For a start, it should be omikron, with a ‘k’ not a ‘c’.

the emphasis is on the first letter, which means it should be pronounced in the same way as the ‘o’ in orange.

When it’s said in any other way, it hurts my ears.

E. CHRISTE, Holmfirth, W. Yorks.

Bullied by doomsters

introduced so she didn’t have to wear a mask. I managed to stock up for a fortnight.

the worst thing about masks is you can’t see anyone smiling any more, just frightened eyes.

I am quite capable of making up my own mind when I feel it is necessary to wear a mask and don’t need Boris and his Doomsters to bully me with threats of out-of-proportion fines.

BARRY HILL, Whipsnade, Beds.

No road sense

IS It any wonder there is a shortage of lorry drivers? My son applied for a hGV course. he sent off for a provisional licence but the wrong application form was returned to him.

he has been told it will be a few months, if he’s lucky, before he gets his licence due to the logjam at the DVla.

It’s all about the process, not the end result. nurses now need a degree when they used to qualify after two years on the wards. the police want graduates when former servicemen could do a better job of dealing with knife crime.

TIM JAMES, Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan. nO, It’S not time to change the entry requirements for workmen from the eU (letters).

Instead, we should be upgrading courses offered by colleges of further education so they provide a route to qualifications for young people whose talents are practical rather than academic.

too many working-class boys are being left behind by our education system.

DOROTHY WILSON, Willoughby-on-the-Wolds, Notts.