Children paying a high price in this lockdown Scramble the jets... Back of the net
DURING the first lockdown, I described the effect it was having on my nine- year- old’s mental health (Letters).
As the weeks turned into months, her constant question was: ‘When will it end?’ Our home became her prison.
When schools re opened in September, the bubbles children were placed in took no account of friendship groups, causing distress. But those attending after-school clubs could mix, making a mockery of the bubbles. The second lockdown’s restrictions on mixing meant my daughter no longer had vital contact with her friends and the only social interaction she had was at school.
After a lonely Christmas holiday, she was desperate to go back to school. It’s devastating schools have been shut again.
Even though they remain open for vulnerable children, my request that my daughter should be able to attend has been refused.
I feel the school is failing in its duty of care as is the Government with its inept approach. SARAH MORRISON,
Ormskirk, Lancs.
Dose of common sense
WILL someone PLEASE stop the daily Nicola Sturgeon propaganda roadshow on TV. It has contributed nothing whatever to reduci ng the very high number of people infected with coronavirus.
Instead, please start giving the Pfizer and Oxford vaccines to the men and women in the street, the very people who are currently spreading the virus around, filling the ambulances and clogging up the hospitals. It is they who should have had the vaccines in the first place. People already in hospitals and care homes rarely get the opportunity to infect others.
If the politicians and academics who are directing the current shambles were made to step aside, and be replaced by practical people instead of misguided theorists, we would most certainly start making progress. DR ALASTAIR MAxWELL-IRVING,
Blairlogie, Stirling. ALL frontline workers should be given the vaccine before the elderly – for the protection of our f uture generation and t he economy.
I am 73-years-old, in lockdown for the fourth time and content to continue doing so until the aforementioned have been protected.
GWEN CuLBARD, Dunblane, Perthshire.
Indy obsession
JOHN Swinney says a second independence referendum is an essential priority for the people of Scotland. Unbelievable, coming from a party with a leader who repeatedly claims the pandemic is her one and only priority. Clearly no one should accept anything coming from the mouths of politicians, especially those in the SNP.
GRAHAM WYLLIE, Airdrie, Lanarkshire.
Sir Keir stymies SNP
SO Sir Keir Starmer joins Boris Johnson in firmly rejecting Indyref 2, albeit with a different viewpoint, meaning Nicola Sturgeon’s ‘gradualist’ approach to achieving a referendum rerun is fatally flawed.
Sir Keir’s stance is arguably more dangerous for Miss Sturgeon – by offering federalism to Scotland, he would provide much that independence would bestow, with fewer risks.
Unintentionally, Sir Keir and Mr Johnson have joined forces to become a powerful double act in opposition to separatism.
MARTIN REDFERN, Melrose, Roxburghshire.
Puppy love
IT breaks my heart that selfish people who bought puppies during lockdown thinking it was an easy option to cure confinement blues are abandoning their pets because they claim they didn’t realise the commitment required.
I did get a puppy in the first lockdown, but I’ve had dogs as pets for most of my life.
It’s like having a baby: you have to teach them to understand what they can and can’t do. Patience and lots of love is needed.
It’s wonderful to see your puppy respond and enjoy being with you. You have to interact with them because if they are left to amuse themselves that is when boredom and bad behaviour can set in. Dog rescue centres are being left to pick up the pieces caused by greedy breeders and thoughtless owners. I maintain dogs need to be registered and owners should have to take out an annual licence. Name supplied, Maidenhead, Berks.
No open door to EU
NICOLA Sturgeon sees independence as Scotland’s route to rejoining the EU. The fact is that nations such as Spain, Belgium, Italy and Denmark, with their own regions wanting to break away, are going to block our entry.
Neither can we count on the support of contributing nations such as Germany, France and Holland – why would they want another economic basket case?
We may rejoice in the description of Edinburgh as the ‘Athens of the North’ but we can hardly complain if EU economists see Greece II.
DR JOHN CAMERON, St Andrews, Fife.
I HOPE the RAF will treat any Trump flight to Scotland with the same approach they do to Russian aircraft by quietly escorting it out of UK airspace.
BRYAN WRIGHT, Greenock, Renfrewshire.
Taste of Roux
THE Mail’s tribute to the late Albert Roux reminded me of a day he spent at Merton College in the early 1990s supporting a competition for young people working in London’s hotels.
Local schools were also attending a taster session at the college and Albert asked me if he could join pupils making pizzas in the kitchen. It was obvious how much he and they enjoyed the experience. Albert was a true chef.
GEOFF WILD, Woking, Surrey.
I FULLY support Sportsmail’s campaign to tackle dementia suffered by footballers.
As a Chester supporter, the story about Hugh Ryden and his two footballer brothers brought back happy memories.
In 1965, Chester played their last home game with four of the famous five having scored 20 goals plus each. Hugh was just short of the tally and on that last day the other forwards worked hard to get him to that magic milestone. Best wishes to Hugh.
DERRICK ORME, Colwyn Bay, Conwy.
Waste of energy
MY ENERGY company is also uncommunicative (Letters).
Havi n g moved house, I attempted to set up an account online only to be informed I would have to phone.
I duly did, to be informed by an automated message that the company had closed all i ts customer care lines due to Covid.
I wrote, suggesting it contact me, and received a letter stating it does not answer customers’ letters and suggesting I phoned.
Unsurprisingly, I will be sourcing my energy elsewhere.
COLIN WOODLEY, Oxon.