Letters: A long-awaited family Christmas thrown into doubt by ruthlessly timed strike action

SIR – My husband and I have not spent Christmas in Britain for seven years, as we live in Spain. But this year, post-pandemic, we wanted to come back to visit our children.

Assuming we arrive, which has been thrown into doubt by the Border Force strike plans (report, December 8), we have family events booked – carols by candlelight on Christmas Eve at the Albert Hall and the Abba experience on December 27.

Now, because of the rail strikes, we might not make it to either event. We have paid more than £500 for tickets. Apart from the disappointment, will we be given our money back if we can’t get there?

Do the unions seriously believe that they will gain support by ruining the public’s Christmas ?

Louise Bartley
Jávea, Alicante, Spain

SIR – Britain’s Armed Forces personnel have always risen to the task without complaint. Now the Prime Minister has confirmed that many will lose their Christmases as they stand in for striking public-sector workers who are demanding pay rises that the country cannot afford.

Any additional money should go to them.

Joe Exon
Corsham, Wiltshire

SIR – I have some sympathy with strikers, but they are not the only ones facing difficult circumstances. The whole country is being affected by supply disruption, rising interest rates and Vladimir Putin’s abhorrent war in Ukraine.

Striking at this moment can be seen only as an attempt to place strikers’ demands above everyone else’s needs.

Nick Green
Devizes, Wiltshire

SIR – What has become of the season of peace and goodwill toward men?

Chris Broadley
Walmer, Kent

Energy trap

SIR – Because a succession of British governments have failed to ensure adequate investment in energy provision and security, it is now necessary for me to reduce my energy consumption by 15 per cent to avoid possible blackouts.

Meanwhile if, in order to keep my house warm at current prices, I decide to work more hours, the Government will confiscate a higher proportion of these additional earnings so it can partially reimburse me for the increased cost of energy.

Round and round we go. How and when can we get off?

Ian Mackenzie
Preston, Lancashire

SIR – Have those who object to the new coal mine at Whitehaven (Letters, December 9) learnt nothing from recent history?

Thank goodness that, after thorough consideration, the mine has finally been approved.

Janet Stukins
Wigton, Cumbria

SIR – How many of those objecting to mining coal for steel are happy to buy products that rely upon the energy of extensive rare earth ores mined and refined abroad?

Michael Marks
Leominster, Herefordshire

SIR – Sandy Pratt (Letters, December 9) would be right that “importing coal produces a larger carbon footprint than mining our own”, were it not for West Cumbria Mining’s intention to export most of it.

Surely the carbon footprint will remain the same irrespective of the direction of transport. The balance sheet and steel-production security will improve, but not the environment.

Dr Bruce Denness
Niton, Isle of Wight

Face-to-face degrees

SIR – I couldn’t agree more that universities should come clean to students if courses are being delivered online (report, December 7).

Students should get the service they are paying for. They are making a big investment of their time, money and future – and they must see a return on that investment.

Universities need to be honest and transparent about the proportion of online content, as well as course outcomes and job prospects. Students expect to go to university and be learning alongside fellow students, in lecture halls, and able to debate and question their professors.

I believe our universities must meet these expectations, and if they plan to use online learning, they should be up-front in advance of admission.

That’s why, as a Government, we’ve asked the Office for Students to put “boots on the ground” and investigate universities where there are concerns over face-to-face teaching.

Universities are private institutions, and I would encourage dissatisfied students to take their complaints to their university. If they are unhappy with the response, they can then escalate their concerns to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator.

Our world-class universities hold a great responsibility in turning out graduates who have skills that will take them on to a long and rewarding career. Students deserve high-quality teaching that offers value for money, sets them up for great success, and enables them to climb the ladder of opportunity.

Robert Halfon MP (Con)
Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Higher Education
London SW1

A fig tree still fruiting into the festive season

SIR – We are still picking delicious figs from our tree in the garden. We have never had them in December before.

Jo Sunnucks
Linton, Kent

SIR – George Wilkie (Letters, November 22) is quite right about the lack of flavour in supermarket fruit and vegetables.

One thing he doesn’t mention, however, is that these shops have a preference for products with an inordinately long shelf life, and that are robust enough to be badly handled.

Supermarket courgettes, French beans, various cabbages and celery, for example, are able to survive in the fridge for months, and the tasteless butternut squashes are indestructible. Bananas are shipped green and ripened artificially.

It is little wonder that produce deteriorates so quickly if it is placed in the fruit bowl or on the vegetable rack.

Simon Playle
London SW6

Role of private care

SIR – Your report (“NHS ‘refused’ to fully use private hospitals”, December 8) resonates strongly with my own experience.

My consultant, to whom I was referred by my GP, recommended I consider a right knee replacement following persistent arthritis. This was when the Covid pandemic was approaching, and so, mindful of the likely course of events, I asked him how long it would take to obtain the operation on the NHS. Between four and six months, he replied. I then asked him about the private option; he consulted his secretary and told me he could do it next week.

My operation took exactly one hour, and I was out of hospital in two days, having had the same procedure as the one offered by the NHS, performed by the same staff. Am I alone in thinking this situation is a national disgrace?

Chris Benn
Grantham, Lincolnshire

China’s Covid policy

SIR – Baseless accusations against China’s Covid policy (Comment, November 25) ignore the achievements China has made in coordinating its Covid response with socioeconomic development, and its contribution to the stability of global supply chains.

China respects other countries’ Covid policies, adopted according to their national conditions. And we formulate our policy in light of our own national realities. China has the lowest infection and fatality rates in the world, and, in particular, has provided effective protection to vulnerable people. In light of recent developments in the Covid situation, China has rolled out more targeted measures to further optimise its response. This shows its policy is based on science and is highly responsive.

At a time when many economies are facing the risk of recession, China’s GDP rose by 3 per cent in the first three quarters of this year. From January to August, it attracted over 20 per cent more investment than last year, and its foreign trade grew by 10.1 per cent. This will provide sustained impetus to the stability of global supply chains and to global economic recovery.

Bi Haibo
Spokesperson, Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the UK
London W1

Sick of the Sussexes

SIR – If one wishes to show one’s disapproval of the Sussexes and Netflix, and their multimillion-dollar fantasy production, the best thing to do is cancel one’s Netflix subscription.

If large numbers did so, Netflix might even get the message. There are plenty of other channels to enjoy.

Simon Howell
Petts Wood, Kent

SIR – The Netflix documentary on Harry and Meghan has people looking for problems where, really, not so many exist.

What makes Harry’s comment, “The temptation is to marry someone who fits the mould,” a swipe at his brother? For generations, royals have married suitable – often selected – partners. And, in fact, the current Princess of Wales was a “commoner”, just as Meghan was.

As for Harry’s comment about not making "the same mistakes as our parents did”, many of us have been brought up to try to do better than our parents – educationally, emotionally, financially. It’s not a fault; it’s an aspiration.

Harry and Meghan are both flawed people but I don’t see them as vindictive – more in need of help to get over their persecution complexes.

Allan Muirhead
Kirkby Lonsdale, Cumbria

SIR – The one consolation is that, after the Netflix series and book, Harry and Meghan will have no more “revelations” to peddle. Meanwhile the monarchy will go from strength to strength.

David Brown
Quarrington, Lincolnshire

An SAS great

SIR – My late father, an Irish rugby international in the 1930s, played with Blair Mayne (Letters, December 9) and often told me stories about him, and I wrote a history of the Law Society of Northern Ireland, of which he was secretary after the Second World War.

Fraser McLuskey, who was chaplain to the SAS and knew Mayne intimately, wrote: “What impressed his men even more than his skill and courage was his sense of responsibility for those under his command. He was determined that he would never lose a single life if it could be avoided … Each man knew that his mission was dangerous [and ] that his chances of coming home were barely even. But he also knew that unless his operation was worthwhile, Paddy would never have sanctioned it.”

And after his death, the Northern Ireland Legal Quarterly wrote: “He carried out his duties as Secretary [of the Law Society of Northern Ireland] with quiet courtesy … Less apparent than his great strength and toughness was a gentleness and wonderful kindness.”

Certainly Paddy Mayne was a complex character and there were alcohol-related incidents, but that should not be allowed to overshadow the achievements of a very brave man.

Alan Hewitt
Belfast

Pre-dinner port

SIR – The splendid, now sadly closed Basil Street Hotel, in Knightsbridge, London, used to serve a glass of port (Letters, December 8) before every evening meal.

Dominic Shelmerdine
London SW3

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