It’s good to talk

IT APPEARS from Bill Williams’ letter 26/01/2016 that my last letter failed to communicate my message; for that I apologise.

I must say I am lost to know where Eamonn Andrews came into it? Praise of that magnitude I cannot accept.

In my letter I wrote “You and your family didn’t walk 400 miles from Glasgow.”

Sorry Bill, I was sure you didn’t walk, neither did I have a ‘fix’ on your home, so 400 miles was a pure guess.

I do understand Bill’s concerns in “lock up your daughters.” But don’t allow a few unsavoury characters cloud your judgement of people.

My daughter did her degree in Glasgow, when there were several attacks by unsavoury Scots on students (fortunately not my daughter).

These attacks didn’t cloud my judgement of Scots. These people are found all over the world. On the other hand, I believe Swindon is the second safest town in the UK.

It would appear that my comment “Don’t paint every foreigner with your anti-EU brush” upset you.

I, too, have a Polish dentist and I have been diagnosed for this and that by almost every nationality; thank Labour and God for the NHS.

That aside, in 50 plus years I have worked with many different nationalities and religions and I found them inspirational.

I suppose it gave me my ‘one world brother and sister’ outlook. I temper this, knowing that all families have relationship problems.

One more thing - my mother’s family line contains Bells, Burns and Buglass, all Scots names; Buglass is from the Highlands, so you never know, we may even have a Scottish family link, Bill.

You claim not to be an economic migrant, then why did you leave Glasgow?

I had a house and mortgage in Gateshead but my employer wanted me to move to Swindon, or there would be no job in the north east.

I was an economic migrant with a house provided by SBC - the best move I ever made.

In my mind we are all living on this very small planet, we do have a few million years left before it runs out of steam.

Genetics indicates that we all have the same or similar forefathers, therefore we are all brothers and sisters.

As both you and I have experienced, the UK is a group of individual nations united, we all live and work together but not always in harmony.

What the world needs is the ability to talk freely to each other without reverting to conflict; like the relationship of Scots, Welsh, English, and Irish.

We don’t always see eye to eye but we realise ‘jaw/jaw is better than war/war.’ That is why I believe in the European Union. The EU provides that special link across nations, a talking shop with teeth to do.

Yes, there are problems, yes, there are unsavoury characters, the money grabbers, the freeloaders; but they are also here in UK politics; read the papers.

You can only dump these guys if you’re a member of the club, not shouting from the sidelines.

Don’t read the Daily Maul, contact a real person, like your MEP, it will be worth the effort.

MIKE SPRY Mayfield Close Nythe Swindon

Spend money carefully

YOUR article of January 21 “M4 Tunnel Plan raised Wichelstowe and Basssett flooding fears” raises an issue which first arose in 2002 when developers submitted an application for the Swindon Southern Development Area now known as Wichelstowe.

Originally it had been intended to have a southern relief road from Croft Road in the east which would go west and then turn north to go back into Swindon over the railway line.

The developers applied for a route which instead would go south under the motorway to Wharf Road and have an easy connection to the motorway at Junction 16.

It was seen as advantageous to commute along the motorway in those days.

Flood risk, although always known about in the area, was not seen as being as serious as it is now.

There is also the problem that the motorway crossing route would mean that local journeys between Wichelstowe and north Swindon would have to pass through Junction 16, increasing the congestion there.

On the other hand, there is much to be said for the rail crossing route.

Swindon is cut in two by the railway so another crossing would be welcome And the route would help to focus on the town centre.

Would a rail solution for the western corridor be far better than trying to unblock one bottle-neck at Junction 16 only to create another on the feeder roads?

The appeal to those who control the funding that comes through Government is to please spend it on transport schemes that will really bring benefit.

CHARMIAN SPICKERNELL Manor Court Swan Road, Pewsey

Veiled pressure

REGARDING the wearing of veils, Sir Michael Wilshaw, the head of Ofstead, said yesterday: "I am concerned that some heads and principals who are trying to restrict the wearing of the full veil in certain circumstances are coming under pressure from others to relax their policy."

I want to assure these leaders that they can rely on my full backing for the stance they are taking. Where leaders are condoning the wearing of the face veil by staff or pupils when this is clearly hindering communication and effective teaching, they (school inspectors) should give consideration to judging the school as inadequate.

I start by declaring that this organisation does not believe that Islam requires women to envelope themselves in a burqa or niqab.

We do not believe that Islam places any restrictions on women’s education, employment or engaging in business.

However, there are thousands of Muslim women who believe, incorrectly in our view, that Islam requires them to cover themselves and we will always fight to uphold their right to practice Islam as they see it.

Sir Michael’s comments show Islamophobia has permeated the highest echelons of the UK.

He gives blanket support to those in education who are trying to limit religious freedom of Muslim women without questioning the motives or circumstances which have given rise to such a ban.

He does not say he will ask why these people are trying to ban the niqab but simply that they will have his full support.

Taken to its logical conclusion, if a head declared that he hated Muslims and these are the circumstances in which he is banning the niqab, he will have Sir Michael’s full support!

His next statement that, regardless of grades at GCSE and A-levels, a school which allows the niqab is to be downgraded need to be not only challenged but condemned.

We ask him to define “communication and effective teaching.” Good grades by students in examinations are sufficient proof that there is communication and effective teaching.

If there is any other criteria this should be made public by Ofsted.

We regret that Sir Michael sees the need to move from an objective assessment of a school to a subjective one.

This shows leaders of this country are bowing to pressures to single out Muslims for ill treatment.

With every day the so-called Western liberal democracies behave more and more like Taliban when the Taliban ruled Afghanistan.

The Taliban forced women to wear the veil, Sir Michael wants to force them to take it off. We do not see any difference between the two.

We urge the government to resist the temptation to take steps which may earn it cheap popularity but will certainly do immense damage to our community relations.

SHAHID AZIZ President Ahmadiyya Anjuman Ishaat Islam Butts Road, Chiseldon

What utter EU waffle

WHEN I read the letter from Mr Cartwright, I first checked it wasn’t April 1, and then checked to see if it was sent in by the Prime Minister. What utter EU waffle.

If the EU does impose an import\export tax, then surely it follows that it will hit those who trade with this country just as hard as it does to us.

No more silly stories about Honda pulling out, they tried that with Toyota, and they confirmed they are here to stay.

Lorries stockpiled on the M20, again that would hit them just as hard when they couldn’t get our goods.

He doesn’t mention the daily charge of £55m, which we wouldn’t be paying.

Here are four questions for you to answer: 1. Do we want to want to keep the pound, when the EU has now said that all member states must be using the euro by 2020?

2. Do we wish our government to have absolute control over who we are able to admit and who we are able to expel from the UK?

3. Do we wish to move towards European fiscal control and unification, and also EU-controlled Armed Forces?

4. Do we wish to remain a member of an organisation, which since its inauguration, has been unable, as a result of theft and corruption, to have any form of independent auditors sign off its accounts ever?

I hope for an honest answer and, please, no more silly EU scare stories of food rotting.

T REYNOLDS Wheeler Avenue, Swindon

Thanks to GWH

ON MONDAY, January 11 I went into The Great Western Hospital to have a hip replacement and although complications led to me being admitted to Aldbourne Ward for eight days, I would like to say a massive thank you to all the staff.

The way they treated me both medically and personally was a credit to the hospital and our NHS. They made a very worrying time a lot less stressful.

I would also like to thank the people of South Marston, where I am postman, for all their kind words.

PAUL BURKE Blackthorn Close Royal Wootton Bassett