Bending the knee

This is not the first time on these pages, nor will it be last.That I mention a few of my points of view. Until freedom wins and we all get back to sensibility. Teenagers running riot all over our country. Did I mention idle hands in a previous letter? The police force bending knees to anarchy. Beaches on the coast being flooded by visitors. Do you blame them? Empty football stadiums. To mention but a few consequences of our loss of our natural way of life in the 21st century. Unprecedendented in my lifetime. All due to the government's lockdown.

Human beings are by millions of years of evolution, herd animals. Enough is enough in my opinion of this farce. Two metres, one metre, Wash your hands singing happy birthday. Schools are opening. No they are not. Pubs are opening, but gyms are closed. Don't wear masks, sorry wear masks on all public transport. To the ladies, you can go to the pub, but you cannot go to the hairdressers yet.

I rest my case in despair regarding common sense in this scenario.

Bill Williams

Merlin Way

Covingham

EU talks are a side show

It seems that a number of correspondents, who share a masochistic desire to remain in the suffocating embrace of the political construct of the EU, are of the view that the UK government cannot multi task.

How else should one interpret their calls for trade negotiations to be suspended between the EU and the UK?

If the EU truly believes it is not possible to formulate a FTA by the end of the year, they could quite easily offer the UK negotiators a two year extension without any pre-conditions or costs.

Of course they won’t do that as they need the billions of pounds in membership subscriptions which they would receive from the UK; they also need to ensure that the UK markets remain open to them in order that their economies are not hampered post Covid-19.

The UK Government should, and indeed must remain resolute and determined to end talks on the 31st December – hopefully there will be a deal, if not, it will be a failure on the part of both parties.

However, the alleged pain of Brexit was never on the scale of what we are experiencing with Covid-19, and we will come through on the other side of the economic chaos caused by the pandemic.

Trade talks with the EU have been reduced to what it always was – a side show

Des Morgan

Caraway Drive

Swindon

No toleration for racism

Shortly after Burnley and Manchester City players knelt in solidarity with those campaigning against police violence, and specifically the racist murder of George Floyd, an aircraft flew over the ground towing a banner saying “white lives matter”.

The stunt was clearly intended as an attack on the anti-racist solidarity being shown, particularly here by the footballers but also more generally.

But Chris Gleed sees no problem. He doesn’t really understand, as is clear from his letter, that racism in society prevents us “all living in harmony and treating each other with respect.”

Even leaving out structural issues, has he listened to the lifetime experiences of racism being related by people of colour in the UK?

Is this the harmony he is talking about? Does he really think that tolerating racism furthers harmony?

He concludes, “Let us see both sides …”, as if racism has equivalent merit with opposition to racism.

Peter Smith

Woodside Avenue