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Help for homeless man

RE GILL Harris’ article on Terry the homeless man (SA, September 8), I just wanted to write in to say how frustrated I am.

I’m the one who ‘swooped in to save Bert’ but apparently Terry is human. Nobody came to save him.

Just to put your facts straight, we did. Since first meeting Terry under the bridge we have spoken about Swindon Earth Angels, hostels, food etc and his situation.

One lady made contact with the council and Terry has since been offered a flat.

There are a few caring individuals who are in the process of collecting donations for Terry for his new home.

Sadly Bert was poorly and couldn’t take himself off to the vets, hence we stepped in to help.

Yes, they’re separated for good but we are keeping in touch over Bert.

There was no other choice. Should we have left Bert there then because he’s only a cat? No. And we helped Terry as well.

If you feel not enough is done for the homeless maybe go and help them yourself. Swindon Earth Angels do a great job. Or maybe you would like to donate something to Terry’s new home seeing as he’s getting no help apparently.

It’s disheartening to be wrongly judged publicly when so many normal everyday people are trying their best to help.

CLAIRE HILL

Swindon

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Letter was ‘confused’

ON FRIDAY the Advertiser published a letter by David Collins which demonstrated confused reasoning which, at the very least, bordered on delusional.

He was apparently made redundant. I suspect this was during the Thatcher period when millions of workers shared that fate.

The trade union leaderships were weak in opposing Thatcher’s onslaught; in Collin’s words ‘left me and thousands like me, to be made redundant’.

But, following his evidence that the union leaderships were not militant enough, he draws the conclusion they were too militant.

And the politicians and employers who were responsible for those sackings, he concludes, must be supported at all times without opposition.

His core principle is that all workers should accept every imposition of employers.

His specific target this time is doctors who he thinks should allow the government’s drive to privatise go unopposed. It is frankly pathetic. I recall around the same period he was surrendering his job amid a wave of strikes, sparked unofficially by nurses in the hospitals, who had had enough of the Thatcher NHS cuts.

Overnight extra cash was forced from the government. Frozen vacancies were unfrozen. Patients unquestionably benefited from this fightback.

As icing on the cake, there was a letter by Mr Collins on Saturday. From this, and previous anti-immigrant letters from him, we learn that he believes entry to the UK should be denied anyone and everyone unless they happen to be friendly with his acquaintances, in which case they should be welcomed with bells and whistles. Maybe Mr Collins needs to reflect a little before diagnosing who is “going crazy.

PETER SMITH

Woodside Avenue Swindon

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Mo Farah knighthood

AFTER many successful sports participants have received awards over and above their sporting achievements, I see that there is a call for Mo Farah to be knighted.

I am full of praise for these people and Mo Farah actually, as it is an enormous amount of dedication needed and hard work to attain that level.

Many have Lottery funding from the ‘good causes’ aspect but this is only because, (as far as I am aware), £1 from your lottery ticket is a Government Tax under the guise of ‘good causes’.

The medals should be enough. Mo Farah runs for Great Britain but he and his family reside in the US so why should we call for him to receive a UK honour?

Let’s give these awards to the people who actually do something special. Like the millionaire who sold his mansion, ended up divorced and lives in a small flat, to run and fund a patient minibus service for cancer patients.

I did pen a similar letter to a daily newspaper but, as they had run a page about how good Mo Farah was for this country, they decided not to publish as, ‘They receive hundreds of letters etc, every day’ etc, etc.

CHRIS GLEED

Proud Close, Purton

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Raise tax for education

PRIMARY education in Swindon is the fourth worst in the country for the teaching of maths and English.

Parents in Swindon will be shocked by the revelations in the Swindon Advertiser report of September 10 comparing 152 local authorities.

Swindon Borough Council already says it cannot afford to cut the grass, pick up litter, clear out drains or sweep the roads and now it seems they cannot afford a decent education for the primary school children of Swindon.

Do we need more proof that the council tax in Swindon has been too low for too long?

It is time to raise it to a level that provides a decent standard of education for the children in Swindon.

Being the fourth worst in the country is just not good enough. The children of Swindon deserve better.

TERRY HAYWARD

Burnham Road, Swindon

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Act now on North Korea

NORTH Korea is a Communist dictatorship and is currently in the process of developing nuclear weapons.

The world needs to impose strict economic sanctions to punish it for breaking international law regarding the spread of nuclear weapons.

North Korea is also developing ballistic missiles, so if we don’t stop them now it will soon be too late.

Prevaricating for another 20 years will only increase the danger.

If we want to stop a nuclear war then we must act now with sanctions strong enough to destroy the economy of North Korea and bring down its government.

STEVE HALDEN

Beaufort Green, Sw