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Short memories

I was really pleased to read taxi drivers in Swindon are volunteering to take veterans home again after the Remembrance Day service in the town centre. (SA, November 5)

It is also nice to see the bus companies stepping up and offering free travel. Many who go to the service these days are increasingly frail and after standing in the cold for a couple of hours they will be glad of a swift trip back home.

I feel that as memories of the recent conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq, when we saw our country’s fallen repatriated through the streets of Royal Wootton Bassett, start to fade, there is a danger people will once again start taking our military personnel for granted.

Remembrance season is important, not just to commemorate those who were lost decades ago, but to recognise those who have died on active service in this century and whose families, many of them young, are still grieving.

Thank you drivers for showing respect.

Tim King, Dorcan, Swindon

Charging ahead

Citing a “moral, ecological and legal duty”, mayor Marvin Rees (Mayor of Bristol), has approved plans to stop diesel vehicles from entering the city centre.

The proposal could see all such privately owned vehicles barred from entering the proposed clean air zone every day between 7am and 3pm. This may rub off on Swindon but we don’t have a city centre. I sometimes wonder if we have a town centre.

That said, I fail to really understand the logic that maybe hopes, in a way to satisfy the climate change participants.

Lots of diesel cars now are quite ‘green’ with expensive particulate filters being fitted, therefore lots of owners have no road tax to pay. That is a government incentive.

I may be allowed into the centre of Bristol in my 1800cc petrol-driven car that cost me over £200 in road tax each year. but even though it has a catalytic converter fitted, that requires a certain temperature to be reached before the car emits emissions to a greener degree.

On that basis, my petrol driven car will pollute more than a modern diesel car.

If Marvin Rees is to be showing full consideration to this, is he not considering the fact that public transport adds more time to ones journey, plus extra expense and means that some people have to drive to the outskirts of the city to then ride on public transport that is not always conducive to one’s needs.

Assuming that they can actually get on the one they need!

I see problems along the way as, I for one could not afford a hybrid or electric vehicle that means one has to hunt for an accessible, working and free of other vehicles charging points.

Is there a hidden thought whereby people think ‘Marvin Rees is great’ behind these thoughts to satisfy certain groups?

It’s the sort of area that Swindon Borough Council may blindly go!

Chris Gleed, Proud Close, Purton

A kinder world

Anti-Bullying Week is from the 11th – 15th November with the theme ‘Change Starts With Us’.

We all have a role to play in creating a world where bullying is no longer tolerated, and where children feel safe, happy and supported. With at least one child in every class bullied on a daily or weekly basis, we must take action to create a kinder more caring society. If you or someone you know needs help with bullying visit www.kidscape.org.uk.

Lauren Seager-Smith, Chief Executive Officer, Kidscape