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Thamesdown angst

I WAS litter picking on Thamesdown Drive on Monday. The speed and stupidity of some drivers has to be seen to be believed.

At least three motorcycles screamed past me, seemingly doing 100mph.

As a pedestrian, I could see fewer direct examples of light jumping, but as a driver I witness it on a daily basis, in fact every driver in North Swindon sees red lights treated as ‘optional’ day after day.

There is a collision pretty much every month. I know this as I regularly pick up bits of cars.

But, while it’s only the insurance companies being screwed for whiplash and inflated repair bills, no one seems to much care.

The obvious solution is to adopt cheap, self-funding camera technology and demonstrate there is a price to be paid for irresponsibility, which is some innocent’s life.

And don’t tell me ‘cameras don’t work’ or only the ‘speed partnership could use cameras’, or ‘we are not allowed to have them.’

I could take you to at least six local authorities where cameras not only work, control speed and stop red light abuse but also raise thousands in fines, until motorists begin to show respect for pedestrians, other motorists and the law.

Only one camera needs to work over 10 sets of lights. As long as one does and fines are reported, behaviour would change.

So far this appalling driving has resulted in only one person losing their life, sadly not enough for a serious response yet.

What it will take is small saloon packed with adolescents, to meet a similar crew coming from a different direction.

The results will be catastrophic for the individuals and a tragedy for their families. Then something will be done.

I have attended so-called ‘localities forums’ over the last two years where this matter is raised at every meeting.

A video of an errant driver with number plate in full view was produced but we were told the CPS could not use it.

I have heard every excuse, and seen the buck passed so often it makes one’s head spin.

I had hoped when steely Vera took over the chair, something might change, but reading the last set of minutes makes one miserable.

I just pray that when an accident does happen, and it will be when, my beautiful granddaughter (or yours) is not standing on a central reservation waiting to cross.

Let me say unequivocally, to Highways Minister Patrick McLoughlin, Justin Tomlinson, Angus Macpherson, David Renard, Dale Heenan, Inspector Barry Reed, Phillip Martlew and all nine local borough councillors you have not done a thing to improve safety on Thamesdown Drive in the 15 years since the builders walked away.

When an accident does happen I will resurrect this letter with an “I told you so” and it will be the saddest day of my life.

JOHN STOOKE

Haydon End, Swindon

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Federal super state

MANY of your readers will have read the comments made by outgoing US President Barack Obama in which he claimed the UK would be at the back of the queue with respect to any trade deal.

Given that the only deal being discussed by the EU and USA is the one-sided and top secret Transatlantic Trade And Investment Partnership there really is no queue.

It’s also the case that there is no existing EU or UK trade agreement and, in spite of this, we continue to buy £39bn of goods from the USA every year.

We do so under the rules of the World Trade Organisation and if the UK exits the EU we will continue to buy and sell to the USA under the bi-lateral conditions.

In short, there is absolutely no reason for Brexit to have a negative impact on our trade with the USA.

The USA has always exercised pragmatism when it comes to commerce, recognising that trading with nations does not require getting involved in local politics, a point so eloquently made by the first US President and practised by many of his successors.

The chief fear of the Brexiteer is that an in vote will lead to a situation where the EU apparatchiks will increase their efforts to create a federal super state. These concerns are well founded.

The question for the UK must surely be ‘do you want to be enslaved to the rule of a foreign power?’

DES MORGAN

Caraway Drive, Swindon

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Is it coeliac disease?

COELIAC UK is the national charity for people with coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis.

It is estimated coeliac disease affects one in 100 people but only around a quarter of those with the condition are currently diagnosed.

We are urging your readers to ask “is it coeliac disease?” if they are suffering from any of these symptoms: Anaemia, stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, regular bouts of diarrhoea, constipation, bloating, ongoing fatigue, weight loss, or constant mouth ulcers. If that is you, we encourage you to visit www.isitcoeliacdisease.org.uk and take Coeliac UK’s online assessment.

The assessment provides you with a result that you can take to your GP if your responses indicate a need for further tests.

Since the assessment was launched under a year ago, more than 30,000 people have taken the questionnaire and from feedback initial results suggest that about eight per cent of those who were recommended to seek advice went on to be diagnosed with coeliac disease.

Coeliac disease (pronounced see-liac) is not an allergy or an intolerance but an autoimmune disease, so when people with coeliac disease eat gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye, the body attacks and damages the lining of the gut where food is absorbed, making it difficult for the body to get the nutrients it needs.

Gluten is found in many every day foods such as bread, pasta, cereals, cakes, biscuits and sauces.

A lack of diagnosis means unpleasant symptoms recurring on a frequent basis which, if left untreated, can lead to serious health problems such as osteoporosis, fertility problems and, in some cases, small bowel cancer.

It is estimated that nearly 500,000 people in the UK have coeliac disease but remain untreated and undiagnosed.

The good news is that coeliac disease is treatable by switching to a strict gluten-free diet for life.

So when you notice these symptoms, be ready to ask yourself “is it coeliac disease?”

SARAH SLEET

Chief Executive Coeliac UK

www.coeliac.org.uk

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Swindon film delight

ON MONDAY night I had the great pleasure of going to the Wyvern to watch Martin Parry’s film Railway Town and what a joy it was.

This film not only talked about the great and the good of New Swindon but, more importantly, it told the story of the ordinary men and women who built this town we live in.

Many may not know that these men not only built the longest factory in the world that made everything it needed inside, as they called it, but much much more.

They opened the first public lending library in Britain, knowing that education was key to survival and success.

They started the medical fund known as from the cradle to the grave, that later became the blueprint for the National Health Service that we all depend on so much.

Schools were built for their children who, at one time, were the best educated for a town of that size in the world.

They had a theatre that showed top class entertainment from London with a stage big enough to hold hundreds at a time.

They built the Mechanics Institute with everything that a discerning worker could require and raised the money themselves to do it.

They built public baths with Turkish and Roman baths inside them with the steam coming in a tunnel from the factory itself.

These people came from every corner of the land, bringing with them their own languages and religions to settle in a few muddy fields alongside the canal but they built a community that looked after and cared for itself.

We can be justly proud of the achievements that these folks left us and because of them our town today is in the forefront of technology in manufacturing with more than100 languages spoken here today as we go forward with the same ethos that these pioneers of industry gave us, together we are stronger, together we can grow.

For me the most important thing said on the stage by one of the panel was that we need to get this across to the next generation and the way to do it is to take this wonderful film into the schools of Swindon and teach our children about their past, our history is their future.

To everyone connected to this film, well done. You have made us all the richer with your knowledge and understanding in the way you portrayed this information.

ROY CARTWRIGHT

Pinnegar Way

Covingham, Swindon

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Government dismay

I FULLY support the doctors who have to deal with Jeremy Hunt who must be so blind as to not see what the doctors are getting at.

He said we don’t want to see ‘tired doctors’ and we must ‘sit around the table’, but he has refused the latest request to do exactly that.

He added that Health Secretaries will never be popular.

Of course they won’t, as long as we have a person in that position lacking the knowledge that is required to analyse the whole picture.

We only have to look at the loss of doctors etc, who are leaving the service and foreign doctors and nurses coming in, to see the effect this government is having.

When I was on holiday abroad, I saw a notice at a local hospital which said: ‘English speaking doctors here’!

I did remark: “I wish we had that in our country!” I admit that we have many foreign doctors who are very good, but we also have many who I just cannot understand.

There may be many who disagree with me but just ask yourself: “What has this government done for us in general?” Not very much.

CHRIS GLEED

Proud Close, Purton