Coalition has set the country back by three decades

I AM a 72-year-old pensioner. When I was young and playing in the fields, the entertainment was what we made of it.

If we went to hospital for one reason or another we were taken care of within the hour. If we could not attend the family doctor he would come to the house.

The gardaí were some of the best in the world. We knew the local guard by his first name.

Roll on to 2024 and it is not safe to let your children out of your sight. If you need a doctor you could be waiting hours if not days. If you need a hospital appointment it can take months if not years. Nowadays you do not see or know your local garda.

Tourists were assaulted and there were riots in Dublin. The Justice Minister said Dublin is safe. Ignoring the problem of violence has made it worse and now it is hard to control.

This Government has brought this country 30 years into the past and the way that they are going we will end up in Victorian times.

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have ruled this country for 100 years and they have done nothing but bring it to its knees. Give us an election.

DAVID BURKE, Gorey, Co. Wexford

More ‘woke’ madness

I HAD hoped that after the shotacross-the-bows delivered by the people in the recent referendums, the establishment might think twice about pushing more of its ‘woke’ agenda down our throats.

However, it appears that they are still emboldened to push ahead with so-called hate speech laws. Perhaps because they don’t have to get approval via referendum, they are hoping to sneak them through by default.

Hate speech laws are essentially the secular equivalent of the old blasphemy laws, except the ‘liberal’ enforcers of the former are considerably more intolerant than their religious equivalents. Secularists don’t do absolution.

As GK Chesterton once observed: ‘If men will not be governed by the 10 commandments, they shall be governed by the 10,000 commandments.’ So expect more and more ludicrous cases before our courts, which will have to adjudicate on this nonsense. It’s a cranks’ charter.

ERIC CONWAY, by email

Let your hair down

MY obsession with hairdressers began when I was about 12. I was taken to the local salon to have a fringe cut. My hair was brown, long and very curly. I had a big forehead, hence the fringe. My grown-up children call it a five head. That’s kids for you.

In my teens I ironed my hair on the ironing board with brown paper over it. I loved it straight. As the years marched on I eventually went blonde, half hoping to resemble Marilyn Monroe.

I moved about a bit and always had wonderful hairdressers. Now I have Jess. She is a dote – early 40s, jet-black hair with white streaks in it. She has a few piercings and many tattoos. Her clothes are black and at times very short. She is finished off with Doc Martens and fishnet tights.

I go every Saturday. It’s a magical experience. The trainees do the wash and then, with a turban on my head, I’m delivered to Jess. She is a funny girl and an excellent hairdresser. I’m fussed over with a coffee and then the catchup begins. I know all about her family and fella. She knows all about my lads and pals. We laugh uncontrollably about living with our fellas. She also gives me beauty tips so now I sleep on a silk pillow – apparently it irons out the wrinkles overnight.

We hug as I leave. My visits to the hairdresser are like therapy. I think the most important thing a woman can have – next to talent of course – is a great hairdresser.

PS: I have permission to use her name, but I’ve changed her appearance slightly.