£25 STAR LETTER

I just love the growing craze for houseplants

I read your story last week about the “new fangled craze” for houseplants

(Green fingers, selfies and a new generation going potty for plants, News, November 18).

I’m fascinated by this.

Since we married in 1976 our homes have always been full of houseplants, including during two stints living in the Middle East and two stints living in the Far East.

How many houseplants do I have currently? Oh, just 127 of them!

Dim display

I see the government is going to waste more public money with yet another consultation on fireworks

(Ministers to review firework dangers, News, November 18).

Do government ministers not have enough common sense to realise that the only way to stop misuse of fireworksistobanthe public sale and ownership of fireworks and restrict their use to licensed public displays?

Daft draft?

Donald MacLeod (Opinion, November 18) istroubledthat Scotland and Wales are not mentioned in the draft Brexit agreement.

Not sure why they should be. Is England mentioned?

There was a UK-wide vote, and the mention ofNorthernIrelandand Gibraltar is due to questions involving the Irish Republic and Spain.

I think Brexit is a big mistake, but let’s remember that millions of us in England voted against it. Donald MacLeod should have turned to page 35 of the same day’s paper to realise why Northern Ireland is mentioned 100 times.

All steps possible are being put in place to preserve peace obtained by the Good Friday Agreement.

He and the SNP should be ashamed trying to exploit this for political purposes.

Not so smart

The Smart Meters fiasco is behind schedule and promised savings of £26 a year might only be £11. There are concerns that instead of reducing energy bills they will increase them.

The estimated cost to the consumer will be nearer £20 billion than £11 billion. The government knows, but blatantly denies, that there will be an electricity shortage as coal, gas and nuclear power stations close to be replaced by more wind turbines.

These closures are to cut the UK’s CO2 emissions as dictated by the Climate Change Act 2008, despite the UK only having a miniscule 1.3% of global emissions. Time to kill off the Climate Change Act 2008 and spend the money on the NHS, education and reducing energy bills.

Col comfort

This morning I heard on the radio that English Heritage had declined a Blue Plaque to the film actor Ronald Colman.

May I suggest that those involved in the selection of recipients of Blue Plaques go on the internet and learn what this man achieved during his long career.

Three times he was nominated for an Oscar, Bulldog Drummond, 1929, Condemned, 1929 and Random Harvest, 1943. Mr Colman eventually won an Oscar for his performance in A Double Life in 1948.

English Heritage should hang its head in shame.