Christmas doesn’t need to take place on Christmas Day

■ Some people are complaining that the government should not be relaxing the lockdown rules over Christmas, while others are complaining that the tier 3 status has resulted in stricter rules.

The reason we are in this situation is because of the ‘cretin brigade’ who would not obey ‘wear a face mask’ and ‘socially distance’ from March and April. For those who believe that the rules should not be relaxed, the solution is simple – carry on distancing and if that means not seeing family over the Christmas period, then do that and make up for it later. December 25 is a date on a calendar. Christmas is about celebrating with family and friends and can be done any time of the year.

My daughter served in the Army for several years, and for three successive years was in Kosovo, Bosnia and Iraq over Christmas. We celebrated the first Christmas in October, then the second in February and the third a week before Easter.

Since April this year, I have only gone out once every eight or nine days to do shopping. If everyone had obeyed the government rules from the start, chances are we would be out of this by now. If the government did cancel the Christmas relaxation and impose stricter rules, the same idiots who have been defying them all year would continue to do so.

Susan, Leyton

■ How can we trust our politicians when they obviously do not trust us? I am aware of and responsible for my own behaviour when in the vicinity of others yet, once again, with the introduction of stricter Covid restrictions my freedom of movement has been reduced (Metro, Wed).

Do I deserve to be punished? I don’t think so. When given freedom after being locked up, many people will go overboard a bit but given a small amount of time they will behave the way the majority will, with caution and goodwill. Do we get that adjustment time? Not with this overreactive government and its attitude of ‘we will try this, oops, naughty people, back in your boxes as punishment even if you were good.’

Positive information and encouragement always work better than fear and punishment – just ask any teacher. So let’s stop the daily fearmongering of the numbers of Covid dead. Maybe once a week would be quite enough. High anxiety is known to reduce immune system efficiency.

Give support to businesses that really need help. This does not only mean showering money around but offering support and security to be able to survive physically and psychologically until this is over. How about a moratorium on rents and leases of premises? That takes some careful management but can be done. Above all, let’s have some consistency of purpose!

Muriel, Kingston

■ In response to Peter, who says we should not allow lockdown rules to change our attitudes so we simply live our lives online (MetroTalk, Mon). Yes, there may well be a world out there to experience, with sights to enjoy. The problem is that even those who do go out into it don’t appear to notice.

Next time you are out, count the number of people you see using their smartphone – to make calls, text, order online shopping, do online banking, check social media posts, watch videos,

play games or listen to music. It would be easier to count the people not interacting with a device in some way.

You don’t have to be ‘stuck indoors’ to miss the world. Social distancing began way before Covid-19 showed up!

Kevin Marman, Herne Bay

■ Dave Bradley says footage on TV suggests no one in London is taking Covid seriously (MetroTalk, Tue). Is he suggesting that everyone rigidly sticks to the Covid-19 rules down there or when they travel up to London for work or to go shopping? How can the authorities monitor and control the actions of over eight million people both from the home nations and foreign visitors? Please can he suggest a plan to achieve this proposal?

Tim Atkins, via email

■ Just got off a bus. A woman was marching up and down on the upper deck, closing all the windows ‘to keep the Covid out’. She sounded educated and was totally convinced that she knew better than everyone else on the bus.

Mick, London

■ So it’s December and it’s freezing and sometimes pouring but still ALL the bus windows MUST be open, say the Covid militants… Well, I say no more and make a point of closing them.

Ian Brown, Dalgety Bay