Readers' letters - March 8

British Home Stores is considering closing up to 50 stores – with the loss of around 500 jobs.

The issue here is ‘greedy landlords’.

Yes, landlords are not content with charging realistic and affordable rents, but instead hike up the rents they charge.

Bad news for British Home Stores and for all those people losing their jobs because of this issue.

Hence why more and more shops and businesses are all closing down – due to unjustifiably high rents – and, in some cases, massively high council tax and business rates.

Why don’t these property/business landlords not reduce their rents they charge?

This would help the businesses get the economy back on track again.

And this way there wouldn’t be any job losses, maybe it would create more jobs.

A bit of negotiation when renewing the rents of the business and watch them all flourish.

Sadly, in the world of money-making greed, this probably will never happen.

I have seen many shops close, and all because of unjustifiable high rents, council and business rates. Councils should be doing a lot more to keep local shops in business, not financially forcing them all out of business by hiking up their business rates!

And, property landlords, please, reduce the rents and help businesses stay in business.

Good luck to British Home Stores and all its staff.

Darryl Ashton

Address supplied

Easter

Alternatives to chocolate

With Easter just around the corner, we know that many people with diabetes and their friends and family might be unsure about striking the right balance when it comes to chocolate eggs and other sweet treats.

When you have diabetes it’s really important to eat a healthy, balanced diet and to only include sugary, high-fat foods occasionally.

But Easter only comes once a year and people with diabetes shouldn’t worry about the odd one or two indulgences, as these will not affect long-term blood glucose control.

Of course, some adults with diabetes may actually prefer an alternative Easter present such as flowers, fruit or a book, so it’s worth checking what they would prefer.

When it comes to children with diabetes, it’s important that they don’t feel that their condition excludes them from enjoying a chocolate treat like their friends or siblings, but parents might want to keep an eye on portion size and how much they are eating.

They may also want to check blood glucose levels of children more frequently if increased amounts of chocolate are being eaten, to enable adjustment of insulin doses where necessary.

We would also recommend that adults think about whether treasure hunts involving lots of chocolate eggs could involve alternative non-food treats as well, adding to the surprise.

We do not recommend ‘diabetic’ Easter eggs.

Diabetic chocolate is just as high in fat and calories as ordinary chocolate, it can still raise blood glucose levels and is often more expensive than regular chocolate.

We would recommend remaining mindful and keeping an eye on how much regular chocolate and sweet treats people are eating.

To see our selection of healthier Easter recipes, go to diabetes.org.uk/easter-recipes

With very best Easter 
wishes.

Stephen Ryan

Head of the North

Diabetes UK