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Start them young

IN response to Justin Tomlinson’s column (SA, June 22), may I say how I agree with him on how important physical exercise is in tackling childhood obesity.

I remember growing up as a child in the 60s and 70s. My father would take myself and my two brothers, Martin and Ken, on a Sunday morning walk from our house in Old Town to visit our auntie in Gorse Hill. Put that alongside the many trips to a local park with a ball, cricket bat and stumps in hand and how I remember spending many hours with our dad playing tennis in the tennis courts in Quarry Road.

Both myself and Martin turned 56 last week and both of us earlier in the year passed our male MOTs with flying colours.

With our healthy diet and exercise, we both enjoy a glass of real ale in our local The Beehive but it’s fair to say we both feel as fit now as we have through out our life.

Continue your good work Mr. Tomlinson in promoting physical exercise in tackling childhood obesity.

Mark Webb, Old Town

Cater for the elderly

WITH reference to Derek Smith’s (SA, June 22) remark about the toilet block at Coate being shut, it has been for the last 10 years at least, as it was used by drug addicts.

What would bring the folks into Coate, including me, would be a really good cafe with a large glass area to sit and watch the beauty of Coate and drink coffee, decent toilets and good paths for wheelchairs and mobility scooters.

One day our councillors will get old and realise there are few facilities for the elderly.

Margaret Gardiner, Glenwood Close, Swindon

A change of heart?

I heard Robert Buckland being interviewed on the radio after the warnings from BMW and Honda about the possibility of job losses and a slow decline in the car industry in Swindon due to the Tory hard Brexit.

I’m old enough to remember the effects on the town when the railway works closed and I found his answers depressing and evasive. He more or less asked the listeners to blindly ‘trust’ the government (as usual), and have faith.

He assured us ‘they are listening to business...’ But if that were the case we wouldn’t be getting these repeated warnings from business, would we? Then he claimed the EU must understand that a ‘good’ deal is in their interest too, and they should be clearer on their red lines.

The EU have been dead clear on what they want from the start of the negotiations. It’s OUR red lines which have collapsed one by one, as the reality of bartering with a much stronger partner keeps being brought home.

Crikey, Buckland was a Remainer. Now he’s actually backing this load of hogwash. Surely, he can’t have changed THAT much in two years so that he’s now trotting out bog standard faith and evangelism in Brexit?

Steve Rouse, Wroughton