Tipple for tots
i DISAGREE with the claim that children who are allowed to try alco-
hol at an early age become binge drinkers (Mail).
My husband and I adopted the French way, sitting at the dining table with our children and allowing them to have a small glass of wine from the age of ten, if requested.
We always had alcohol in the house but the children never abused this privilege.
Neither has developed a drinking problem; in fact, one is virtually teetotal.
L. GADSBY, Truro, Cornwall.
Hurrah for honey!
YOUR headline about the effectiveness of honey in treating colds and coughs caught my eye.
A couple of years ago I was troubled by a recurrent painful infection on a finger of my left hand, which filled up like a blister. I lanced it but it came back just as painfully throbbing as before. Salves and antiseptics offered no relief.
My GP prescribed an antibiotic and the infection looked like it had been defeated.
Then it began all over again. Desperate, I applied a layer of honey to the infected area and covered it with plaster. Within the week, the infection subsided, never to return!
DENIS BRUCE, Bishopbriggs, Dunbartonshire.
Don’t count on solar
I WAS interested in Ross Clark’s article about the way in which algorithms have been allowed to drive government policy (Mail). He could have included the belief of the UK Climate Change Committee that we must achieve ‘net zero’ by 2050, and electrifying transport will help us.
Wind and solar power are inadequate for meeting our needs. The wind does not always blow and the sun does not always shine. HOWARD CURNOW,
Lifton, Devon.
Restaurant rip-off
MY WIFE and I took advantage of the Government’s Eat Out To Help Out scheme by visiting a High Street branch of a popular Italian chain. We each chose a main course, afters and a soft drink, and our bill before the discount was £46. Does eating out have to be so costly? DAVID PATRICK MOORE,
Beckenham, Gtr London.
Lessons in litter
I SUGGESTED to a teacher that children should be taught not to drop litter. She replied: ‘We’re too busy with toilet training, how to use a knife and fork and to hold a pencil – they know how to use iPads!’ Mrs M. A. HAY, Studley, Warks.