Well done Whitworth

We enjoy the daily cartoons, but really look forward to Saturday’s Star.

It would be lovely to have something that lists all the characters’ names and tells us a little about them.

I have cut out last week’s strip about losing £30 a month in direct debit to the bank, I can really identify with that!

Thanks to Whitworth and the Star.

Alice Broomhead

East Bank Road

Could this be true?

A letter from B Heaton seems to propose that a major factor behind the decision to hold the EU Referendum was the desire of the Conservative Party to protect their very rich friends from EU inspired tax legislation which was coming down the tracks.

Could this be true? Who am I to say? But if a little clarification could be supplied it would be nice.

Who are these friends? It can hardly be that group of bankers, financiers etc. generally referred to as ‘The City’.

Their opposition to Brexit has been vociferous as has that of their in-house magazine, the Financial Times, which of course is widely regarded by itself as the source of all financial wisdom.

Could it perhaps be the wealthy industrialists and CEOs of our larger businesses? Maybe, but if so the CBI has done a remarkably good job of misrepresenting their views and interests to the point where I would have sworn that they favoured the Remain group.

For the Conservatives themselves the Prime Minister favoured Remain and his Chancellor was the chief flagwaver for Project Fear.

Strange behaviour for those seeking to protect their friends by engineering an exit from the EU don’t you think?

In fairness, however, it should perhaps be mentioned that Mr Osborne has been described as clever but unpopular. Maybe he had no friends to worry about.

I think I will have to ask for a little more detail before accepting the idea that the Conservative Party has chosen to flirt with political suicide in order to save ‘the same rich people’, as B Heaton puts it, a few bob on their tax bills.

Perhaps a short list of names with some information about the individuals.

As it stands this theory is the political equivalent of Pavlov’s dogs being shown a bone.

Stephen Crowther

Greystones

Duty calls after Brexit

It would be no bad thing were exiting the customs union to lead to the reintroduction of the customs officer and his traditional stick of chalk which, in skilled hands, was a great discouragement to smuggling of illegal drugs and other contraband.

What concerns me is the distinct possibility that we could see the return of Duty Free sales of alcohol and tobacco to travellers.

Use of these harmful drugs should be reduced and Brexit should not be used as an excuse to promote consumption and enrich producers.

John Eoin Douglas

by email

A big thank you to cafe

The Royal Voluntary Service Cafe at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital is closing after 30 years, and someone else is taking over.

As regular visitors to the outpatients department we have always had a drink and a biscuit.

We would like to say a big thank you to all the staff and volunteers who have worked there over the years. They have done a wonderful job.

John and Susan Ashforth

Hathersage

Monica makes sense

Monica makes sense when she says she was brought up with a healthy respect for authority.

Same here. I was brought up on the Shiregreen estate in the 70s and 80s.

They were hard difficult times growing up with endless strikes, dad in and out of work, not having much, well material things but that didn’t matter as we got on with what we had.

One thing instilled in me by my parents was we may not be rolling in money but you never ever stole.

You got a better life by hard work, you respected other people and their things, you saw a policeman or anyone in authority you were respectful.

This may not be much but if we were all like that maybe society would be better.

I bring my son up with those values, but those moral values never leave you.

Jayne Grayson

by email

Where would we be?

It would be a fracking disaster if all the lights went out because of a shortage of fuel to supply the power stations.

I wonder what the protesters against fracking would say then.

We need the fuel urgently, time is running out and we will all be in the dark if nothing is done.

So sensible fracking is the future, it’s all there waiting to serve the increasing demand for power.

Where would we be if coal mining underground and outcrop had been banned some years ago?

Probably powerless, to say the least.

EB Warris

by email

What idiot dumps stuff?

Dumped furniture and other black bags have accumulated next to Heeley Green post office but no-one has reported it.

Also, on Leighton Road towards the old Far Lees pub, someone has dumped several bags of rubbish in the road. What kind of idiot does these things?

Vin Malone

by email