Readers' letters - July 16

People's tattoos are nothing to do with me
A correspondent says we are lucky to live in a country where  we can express our own taste. What do you think of tattoos?A correspondent says we are lucky to live in a country where  we can express our own taste. What do you think of tattoos?
A correspondent says we are lucky to live in a country where we can express our own taste. What do you think of tattoos?

A police force in Yorkshire is banning officers from showing arm tattoos.Tattoos are personal things, people love them or hate them.I wouldn’t ever want one but lots do, with many adorning people’s bodies. We see this more in the hot weather.Would I have less confidence in a police officer if they were sporting a tat sleeve? No, not at all.They are in the job because they are up to the job.What scribblings they have got on their body is nothing to do with me.A lovely lady serves me in the supermarket most days and her arms are covered in all manner of daubings.What do I do? Walk on to the next cashier who doesn’t have tattoos?We are lucky to live in a country where we can express our own taste.Jayne Graysonvia emailNo more judge and juryOn a short bus journey recently, a pack of schoolboys got on, making a beeline for the back seats.Within seconds, a noise of an indelicate nature rang out loud and clear, followed by another of the same ilk, and then another!People shifted awkwardly in their seats, some tutting in disgust. An old lady with a shopping trolley turned around and shot them a filthy look. My own response wasn’t dissimilar.“Dirty scruffs!” I thought, can’t they find better ways to amuse themselves? However, the lads laughed shamelessly, seeing their performances as a badge of honour.By the time I got off, there’d been further contributions and I was really despairing of today’s youth.However, I then thought back to the lads at school with me, back in the 1970s, and their own renditions of ‘Concerto de Flatulence’, especially in hymn practice. I then recalled the kids sitting nearby, laughing helplessly from behind their hymn books... and, oh dear, I was one of them!Reality check! We were all young and daft once.So, no more playing ‘Judge and Jury’ from me! Enjoy the summer holidays, kids!CM LanganAddress supplied

Trip to WW1 battlefields

2018 marks the Centenary of the Armistice ending the First World War, and also the Centenary of the Royal Air Force.To mark the occasion, I will be leading a coach party to visit France and Belgium to follow the events of 1918 on the battlefields between October 21 and 26. We will follow the German Spring advance and the Allied response and victory in the autumn.En route we will visit the Centenary exhibition at the Royal Air Force Museum in London to see original planes used in the war. We will visit the Armistice Railway Carriage in France and sites associated with the Red Baron Manfred von Richthofen and Mick Mannock VC, the Cumbrian padre T.B. Hardy VC DSO MC and the poet Wilfred Owen. We will also take part in the Menin Gate Ceremony in Ieper/ Ypres.There will be an opportunity to visit a relative’s grave or memorial by prior arrangement.We still have a few places left. For more details, I can be contacted on 01368 866826, by email at [email protected] and by post at the address below.David RawThe Stable, Kirkland Road, Skirwith, Cumbria, CAN 1RL

Gareth Southgate gets my vote

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With the resignation of David Davis, surely Theresa May’s days at No 10 are numbered? The country needs a cool head, someone whom the public can admire, emulate and look up to in these times of need. A strong leader who has proven managerial and diplomatic skills, who is media-savvy and sartorially elegant. Gareth Southgate gets my vote!Harry Brooke via email

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