My cracked rib hockey injury was a memento

DESPITE a dislike of rugby, purely on the grounds of self-preservation, sport has played a considerable part in my life. Badminton, cricket, tennis, indoor and outdoor bowls, boules when en vacances in France, and hockey.

One advantage (?) of hockey was that you got to know the A&E departments in various hospitals, especially if, like me, you were goalkeeper.

Worst experience? Playing for South Wales against Roehampton Hockey Club. I go running off my goal line to intercept a pass for someone intent on putting one past me. He and I met. His right knee and my left ribcage also met. Ambulance to Roehampton Hospital for X-rays. Radiographer not happy with the result, so pulls me into a position to her satisfaction but regardless of my pain. Outcome broken rib, and given a letter for my GP in Cardiff. Oh, nearly forgot, on return to Roehampton Club my “assailant” rushed up to me and insisted on buying me a drink.

Back home. Give letter to GP, who just happened to be a Welsh international rugby three-quarter, whose crash tackling left many opponents lying prostrate on the turf of the old Arms Park. He reads the letter, looks up at me and says: “You play a dangerous game.” Now, my previous monthly visits to him had always been “Good evening, Doctor/Thank you, Doctor”. But bearing in mind his exploits on the rugby field, that politeness went out of the surgery window. I replied: “You are a fine one to talk.” Cheek? No, thereafter our meetings were more than a tad less formal.

And the guy who broke my rib? Found out later he was a member of the GB hockey team. My broken rib suddenly became a memento. Not quite a gold medal but...

Having seen the speed at which today’s game is played, I am glad to have played when I did. Norman Rendle Rhiwbina, Cardiff

Wales is heading for penury

THE decisions coming out of the Welsh Parliament seem to be driving Wales into penury regarding health, education and the commercial world.

We put Covid patients in every hospital and totally ignore the rules of quarantine. We won’t start up our education in schools and we won’t allow people who can work safely go back to work.

Last year the Bryn Glas Tunnels by-pass was cancelled. This scheme would have been the biggest boost to commercial activity on the M4 corridor and the rest of South Wales.

We have the lowest standard of education in the UK and now we won’t get our schools open.

Our NHS is outperformed by every other NHS in the UK and the Welsh Parliament says it is doing marvellously. They must be comparing it to Yemen. In the midst of this they decide to change the name of the Assembly and its members. The question comes to mind: how much did this cost?

They are a second-class committee turning us into a third-class country.

Bill Symons

Cardiff

An inept response to the Covid crisis

I AM astounded at how inept the Welsh Government has been in responding to the emergency caused by coronavirus.

I fully understand the difficulty attributed to what politicians are calling an unprecedented situation, probably more than many others (I am a funeral director based in Cardiff).

However, is it not true that the pandemic was foreseen and planned for by numerous war gamings, the most recent being Cygnus wherein local authorities and the Welsh Government stress tested their response to various viral issues?

I recall being warned about Sars, bird flu, swine flu, and back in the late ‘60s, early ‘70s we experienced Chinese flu which in the UK caused more deaths than the current Covid19 has (so far).

Let us examine the timeline. In January we were warned Covid was likely to spread to the UK. In February we had in Wales our first cases, people returning from Italian ski holidays, I think. The Welsh Government refused to stop Welsh schools sending pupils to those same resorts. In March we experienced our first death.

We have previously been told we had ample resources, that the Government intended to test 10,000 people a day (March). This was dropped when it became clear the target (which apparently wasn’t a target) could not be achieved.

Huge test centres were established, which one can see are barely being used. We are told that not enough people want to be tested – what utter nonsense.

The goalposts for testing are being moved so only people who have the symptoms can be tested, and only one per household. (I know this as I have had staff self-isolating as they live with a person who has the symptoms. They want to return to work after a period of self isolation, but the Government will not grant a test as they have no symptoms.) Imagine how it would be if a person who lives with someone who has had it returns to work and infects their colleagues because the Welsh Government cannot see the logic in testing them.

Then we have the nonsense of Drakeford attempting to suggest that people released from hospital can go to a care home without first being tested to see if they are clear of the virus. We know our most vulnerable people (the elderly in care homes)

He and I met. His right knee and my left ribcage also met