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I’d like to wish you a happy fourth anniversary for your column for today
(if my recollection serves me right)! Excellent that it’s still going strong and entertaining folk daily.
Rob King, Crondall, Hants
Ed: I would never have remembered – thank you, Rob. I’ve very much enjoyed your contributions, so please keep them coming.
My blood pressure tablets were not working, so my GP prescribed stronger ones. When I went to collect them, I asked the pharmacist to take back the unwanted ones. She told me to bin them if I didn’t want them. Such a waste of a new packet of tablets that had never left the chemist’s shelf. No wonder the NHS is in such a state. Mrs DJ Elliott, Frome, Somerset
Ed: This is one of my major bugbears too, Mrs Elliott. I often hand back unused asthma inhalers to swap for new ones, having only used one item in my prescription, and they are never recycled. It’s such a terrible waste and, in fact, £300million-worth of NHS prescribed medicines are dumped each year. How do other readers feel about this? Can anyone suggest any solutions?
You should be ashamed of calling your daughter, The Dark Lord. It’s demeaning to her, and you should put her up for adoption for her sake. Most parents who sink that low have their children taken into care. God help your child. GR Thomas
Pentre, Rhondda Cynon Taf
Ed: I’m sorry you feel that way, dear reader, and I have asked TDL if she would like to be adopted. She says she’d prefer to stay, as she’d miss her bedroom, PlayStation and kitten. I do note, however, that I am not on that list, so maybe you have a point.
Community Corner makes me laugh every day. You are spot on with The Dark Lord.
I’m sending you a photo of our little Poppy who came to live with us 18 months ago. She is five years old and belonged to our granddaughter, Hannah, and her partner, Jack, who died in a car crash.
We miss them so much. Nannie and Grandad Barnsley, South Yorkshire Ed: I am heartbroken at your inexplicably cruel loss, but so pleased you have Poppy to cuddle. May she brighten your days, and not wee on the flowers too often.
Also a final note to readers who have been struggling with my email address – you may find your emails bounce back because of the ridiculous spelling of my Irish name. Especially the “bh” in Siobhan, which can often look like “hb”, and of course is pronounced as “v”!