Coronavirus does not distinguish between us

IF there is one thing that is certain from the current pandemic crisis, it is that we live in one world and that whoever we are, wherever we live and whatever our background or culture, we all have the same characteristics, emotions and needs as human beings.

The coronavirus does not distinguish between people or recognise any boundaries.

It is so important, therefore, for everyone to work together globally for the common good, not only to defeat the virus, but also to create a future world of harmony and cooperation.

As Jeremy Hunt said last week, “… we can only solve global health security, like climate change, in partnership with other countries.”

It is not helpful, therefore, to apportion blame or to generate division between nations or people with different political and cultural systems.

If there is one lesson to be learned from the current crisis, it is this: we all now live in a very small interdependent world, where what we do affects everyone else.

Let’s hope that this message of a common humanity underpins our future, where we can all live and work together in peace and harmony.

Cllr Dr David Ellis Llantwit Major

Testers should visit staff at home

I was concerned to hear our UK Minister for Health and Social Care on BBC Radio 4 on April 17 expressing his frustration at Wales having spare Covid-19 testing capacity while we have front-line health and care staff isolating at home. Surely if both of those two factors are correct then why is he not arranging testers to visit front line staff at their homes to test them and their families?

Is this so difficult to arrange?

G Edwards Cardiff

Let’s keep concentrating

Like many people I have stayed at home, learnt how to make better use of electronic ways of working, teaching and holding meetings.

And yes, we have learnt some social distancing and thorough handwashing techniques as well. Indoor exercise and online fitness regimes have been real eye openers.

Shopping has also become a new once-a-week experience to be done carefully and in an organised and planned manner.

It was a great shock therefore to visit one of Cardiff’s biggest supermarkets on the weekend and see that people seem to be relaxing their efforts.

Yes, there were lots of security people around but no, they were not counting people in and out.

Yes, there was evidence that trollies had been cleaned at some point but that also seemed to have been stopped.

Yes, there was a one way system around the store but no people were not following the system.

Many people seemed to be enjoying a trip to the shop with partners, friends or family.

As a result the aisles were blocked with people chatting away without a care in the world.

Those with gloves and masks looked way too confident and need to remember that although those things might help they are no guarantee against catching this virus.

Could I beg everyone, store managers, staff and customers to keep concentrating until we can really get a grip on this situation?

Steffan Webb

Plaid Cymru Gogledd Caerdydd

Some places will never open again

THE importance of tourism can now be highlighted as a lost industry in this pandemic.

So much of what we took for granted five weeks ago is now closed. Some of these castles, stately homes, theme parks, gardens, holiday resorts, caravan parks, museums, restaurants and pubs will never reopen again.

To revive this industry and bring millions of workers back may take some years.

Sadly I feel in some cases, their will be no revival, this is Wales, the backwater of the union.

In Wales, it could be said that we had seen a revival in the tourist industry in recent years. After all with most of the tourist information centres closed, in lots of ways promoting brand Wales had been a Herculean task. I’m not a fan of Cadw, but even their sites had seen improvements.

But, with all this depressing news, and then the discussion about our damaged tourist industry, this all goes to show how relevant the industry was.

I work with many people every week, and the thing I hear over and over again is that they miss the days they would take their grandchildren to St Fagans, they can’t wait to walk along the beach at Tenby and go for a drink afterwards, or something more simple like staying in their caravan and waking up listening to the birds in the morning. This is only five weeks on.

This cannot just be about the NHS. Yes, I admire them. I support the NHS, 100%. But we, like them, need something else, other than this hell we are living. We must have something to look forward to please. Karl-James Langford

Barry

We all now live in a very small interdependent world Cllr Dr David Ellis Llantwit Major

My list of the top Welsh tries ever

THE WRU recently emailed every fan registered with them to ask us to name which is the best Welsh try in our 139-year history.

A short list of the most popular answers will then be debated on social media over the coming weeks to determine the winner. What an extraordinarily difficult challenge, but great fun this turned out to be.

I asked my son Dan who attended his first international aged eight when we played the All Blacks at Wembley in 1998 to help me draw up a shortlist from his time of accompanying me to most of our home games. Just looking at that 21-year period left us with 15 serious contenders. We then tried to rationalise our choice based on five criteria as follows:

1. Best try regardless of the result – Shane Williams against the Springboks in SA in 2008.

2. Best try against England – Keith Jarrett (on his debut aged 18) in 1967.

3. Best try in a game that Wales won – Gareth Edwards’ magnificent

solo against Scotland in 1972 .

4. Best try from a Grand Slam campaign – Gethin Jenkins (the prop idol) helping ensure our first Grand Slam for 27 years against Ireland in 2005.

5. Best try against England in a

Grand Slam campaign – Scott Williams’ extraordinary rip, grubber kick and retrieve solo at HQ to secure the Triple Crown on the way to our 11th Grand Slam in 2012.

Dan and I discussed dozens of other brilliant tries before coming up with our shortlisted five, and then both finally agreed that for us the best try in Welsh history was Scott’s extraordinary solo effort at HQ in 2012.

R Terry James Brentwood, Essex

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