LETTERS

Proud of who I am

I FIND it astonishing that, in the 21st century, even the most educated of us are still using the term ‘mixed race’. What do we think we mean by this? That there are different types of human races?

For the first 11 years of my life, nuns at the orphanage where I was brought up told me people were either black or white, and the main difference seemed to be that people like me were considered to be heathens.

The wider world taught me there were degrees of blackness and, as I had an Irish mother and a Caribbean father, I was called half-caste. Mixed race then became the euphemism.

Now, when asked, I describe myself as of mixed heritage, as we all are, somewhere in our ancestry.

I can only conclude that the use of the various terms indicates there has been a need to be forewarned about certain groups of people and their heritages. Surely those days are long gone?

I am British by birth and english by culture, as are my mixed-heritage children, and we are proud to be so. SUZETTE QUINN, Blackburn, Lancs.

Archie-bargy

ARCHIE is an abbreviation of Archibald, not a name in itself. To some it conjures up washed-up seaside entertainer Archie Rice, while to others it was the Christian name of Cary Grant, who soon got shot of it. PAUL CHARLES COOK,

Huddersfield, W. Yorks. THE Royal Flying Corps nickname for German anti-aircraft fire in World War I was Archie, from the music hall song Archibald, Certainly Not!

P. MARSDEN, Bradford. ROYAL Archie? Sounds like a pub. TONY MONCKTON, Paddock Wood, Kent. WITH the American influence on the naming of the baby, I’m surprised his second name wasn’t Bunker. NICHOLAS BATEMAN,

Froxfield, Wilts. LIKE other members of the Royal Family, Prince Harry and Meghan must be big fans of the radio show The Archers, having called their first son Harrison in honour of the Ambridge bobby.

What a shame they didn’t have a daughter. For then we might have had the country’s first Princess Jolene or Tracy.

CHARLIE GARTH, Ampthill, Beds. CAN anyone tell me if Harry and Meghan have had their baby yet? RICHARD WITTERING,

Milton Keynes, Bucks.

Gift of life

I WAS so sad to read about the death of six-year- old Sebastian Hibberd from a serious bowel condition, after his father tried for six hours to contact a doctor (Mail).

Had this little boy had prompt medical attention, his life could have been saved. I know because it happened to me. My life was saved by a switched-on senior registrar at the Whittington Hospital in North London many years ago.

I was a police officer working out of Highgate Police Station on a quiet Sunday morning when I collapsed with searing abdominal pains.

In A&e, a junior doctor quickly diagnosed a grumbling appendix and wanted to discharge me. But the senior registrar took one look at me and decided to admit me overnight for observation. That decision saved my life.

During the nightly rounds, the nurse found I was unresponsive and I was rushed to theatre. The senior registrar opened me up and discovered a twisted bowel — the same condition that killed Sebastian. It was a close call for me.

I can only imagine the terrible pain poor little Sebastian suffered for all those hours. If only the authorities had acted promptly, this little lad could have been saved and given the gift of life I have enjoyed for the past 50 years, thanks to that brilliant senior registrar.

KEN BRICE, Cheddar, Somerset.

Not going to waste

I HAVE a practical solution to stopping the scandal of food waste (Mail). For 18 months, the east of england Co-op, of which I am joint chief executive, has been Britain’s first retailer to sell food beyond its ‘best before’ date for 10p, regardless of its original price.

‘Best before’ means non-perishable food, such as crisps and tinned vegetables, is still safe to eat after that date. ‘Use by’, usually on meat, fish and other chilled produce, means food should not be consumed after the date.

We have reduced the amount of food going to waste by 34 per cent. This has also had a huge impact on food poverty: shoppers can buy food

they would not normally be able to afford. Unfortunately, none of the other supermarket chains have followed our lead. ROGER GROSVENOR, Ipswich, Suffolk.

Tackling knife crime

WHILE there is apparently a link between reduced funding of youth services and the increase in violent crime, it is important to interpret this information correctly.

Reducing funding for youth clubs does not cause welladjusted children to go out and commit murder.

It simply exposes what was being covered over by the funding: without it, children in single-parent families where there are alcohol or drug problems are left to find their own ‘family’ in a street gang.

The long- term solution should focus on more than just funding clubs.

We need to ensure parents are given the support they need to raise their families properly. Children who are brought up with loving discipline in stable households are much less likely to commit crime. ADEYEMI BANJO,

London SE15. ALMOST every weekend, we wake up to the terrible news that another young person has been stabbed.

I am the managing director of a security company which specialises in supplying doormen to pubs and clubs.

Keeping the public safe has always been a key part of being a door supervisor — or bouncer, as it is popularly known. With the rise in knife crime, we have needed to be vigilant in spotting concealed offensive weapons.

We have found homemade knives, sharpened brushes, combs and belts, screwdrivers and knives that were only the size of a credit card.

Violent crime needs to be tackled by us all, with programmes in schools, people being encouraged to contact Crimestoppers or the police with their suspicions and changes in the law to control the sale of knives.

GARY POWERS, Norwich.

Musical tribute

I AM sorry to upset Tom Utley, who objects to pop music at funerals (Mail).

Today, as well as traditional hymns, the service for my dear wife, Joy, will include Portrait Of My Love by Matt Monro, the Love Duet from Puccini’s Madama Butterfly performed by Giuseppe di Stefano and Victoria de los Angeles, and My Way by Frank Sinatra.

A perfect mix that conveys a love that endured for 52 years. DENIS LITTLEWORT,

Ashtead, Surrey.