Born free to live a normal life again

I thought this year was 2020. But I am beginning to wonder if I have entered a time machine into George Orwell’s novel 1984.

State control over all our freedoms and lives. I never thought in my life time I would stand in a queue outside my nearest shopping venue with a burly doorman stopping, or letting me enter.

I never thought in my wildest nightmares that if I continued my lifetime habit of going to the seaside eight times a year. I would be stopped by the police.

I never thought that I would be missing all my friends, as well as a few enemies from my local Coleview Community Centre. Not to mention their excellent variety of poured pints. Due to government dictated policy instead of democratic vote.

I never thought that I would not be allowed to see my large family for nearly nine weeks. I never thought I would stand back and see my grand kids and great grandkids denied the hard fought right over centuries to be educated.

I never thought that I would see the destruction of the British economy.

I never thought that while us plebs abided by the nonsensical two yards apart mantra.Why metres? While our masters, who must be obeyed were flouting them at will. Dominic Cummings or Goings alleged three trips to Durham being one of another two culprits who resigned.That we know about.

My point? Born Free as the wind blows. I now intend to continue that lifetime habit. Anyone joining me?

Bill Williams.

Merlin Way,

Covingham

No trouble with waste site appointments

I am writing in response to John Stooke’s letter to the editor on Monday 25th May.

I too went on to the Swindon Borough Council site last Tuesday to book a slot to take recycling and rubbish to the Household Recycling Centre.

Admittedly the website was crashing for the first 15 minutes which was understandable because of the traffic to the website. At approximately 9:30 a.m. I managed to secure a spot for this Monday at 10am.

I only have praise for the system SBC have put in place, it was so easy to use and I was back home by 10:45 which was so much quicker than the old queuing system.

I hope they will continue to use a booking service even after the Coronavirus and social distancing is over. Well done Swindon Borough Council.

Caryn Puffett

Newmeadow Copse

Peatmoor

Quarantine measures eight weeks too late

Quarantine for two weeks is being considered for people entering Britain as a way to stop new infections of the corona virus getting into this country.

This seems a strange time to bring in such a restriction, now that the government has spent hundreds of billions of pounds financing the eight week lockdown of the economy. The quarantine would have been much more effective had it been at the start of the pandemic.

If it had been done at the very start we could have kept the virus out of the country and avoided the vast expense of the eight week economic lockdown in Britain.

Steve Halden

Beaufort Green

Swindon