Letters Air crisis

How we kick the volcano

We have customarily returned from Frankfurt airfield utilizing 6 trains and a ferry.

I would similar to to appreciate all the smashing people to helped to get us home, generally the employees of Deutsche Bahn, who attempted to organize sight routes by Europe, and the sight physical preparation instructor of the last sight to Brussels who speedy people who were customarily travelling to perfume and Bonn to get off the sight so that the long-distance travellers could get on.

Other Belgian sight officials organized taxis and hotels at 1am and a road house physical preparation instructor requisitioned us in at 2am and had breakfast for us at 5.30am. They were all wonderful. We left Frankfurt at 19.00 on Friday and were home at 16.30 on Saturday.

It is a contrition that the organization to assistance the poor stopped at Calais packet terminal, where feet passengers were charged 65 euros, the same cost of a singular sight ride from Dover to Wolverhampton.

Susan Tappin

Wolverhampton

So the explanation of the value of the EU is an estimable list of mutual actions to repatriate the stuck people, yield food and preserve and puncture ride to denote how the EU helps the adults (Podium, nineteen April).

Unfortunately, what we essentially got was the French putting an evident stop to the commencement from Dan Snow and his squadron for fright of upsetting the packet operators. What goal is there for the EU now?

Steve Parker

Stroud Gloucestershire

Chaos in the air? I dont think so. As far as I am endangered the sky is scarcely transparent and beautiful, unscarred by polluting loud monsters of the sky. With marked down sound levels here in balmy Devon, I cant suppose how infancy improved the sourroundings is in the estimable cube of the UK blighted by circuitously airports.

The china backing on this volcanic clouded cover competence be the realization of the cost of coherence on unnecessary luxuries brought in by air as well as environmentally mortal holidaying.

More authorised holiday in the UK? Less food alien from abroad? Higher levels of self-sufficiency? (With all the jobs these would bring.) Bad headlines for the multinationals, but sounds great to me.

Dr Colin Bannon

Crapstone, Devon

Following the new intrusion to air travel, I find myself out of pocket, due to what I have been sensitive is an "act of God". In sequence to equivocate destiny monetary embarrassment, greatfully could you suggest an non-believer transport word company?

Eugene Hughes

Seaview, Isle of Wight

Lib Dem kind of eccentricity

Michael Gove states: "The larger grade of inspection these [the Liberal Democrats"] policies have, the some-more people will realize that [they] are outward the mainstream and a small bit eccentric." Similar sentiments have been voiced by Douglas Alexander.

One contingency consternation either the thought ever crossed Mr Goves and Mr Alexanders minds that tools of the citizens competence already have scrutinised the policies of all mainstream parties and drawn the finish that at a time of predicament the policies of the Lib Dems competence in actuality be usually what we need.

If we a bit progressing had scrutinised the policies of the alternative (until now) main parties, conceivably we would not have been in as low a disaster as we are now.

S U Sjolin

Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

Bruce Andersons reproach opposite the Liberal Democrats (19 April) contingency be the recklessness of the doomed. "Do not be taken in by Cleggs "niceness" " he warns. Why should I not be? After all, I am taken in by Browns "boorishness" and Camerons "slipperiness".

Derek Brundish

Horsham, West Sussex

Standing opposite the Speaker

The "decades-old gathering that nothing of the main parties puts up a claimant in the Speakers seat" (Election 2010, sixteen April) is a finish myth.

Since the Second World War each former Tory MP club one who has stood for re-election after apropos Speaker has faced antithesis from at slightest one of the main parties and customarily both. On the last occasion, in Jun 1987, Labour polled some-more than 11,000 votes, and the SDP/Liberal Alliance over 8,000 in Speaker Weatherills Croydon seat. Since afterwards there has been no ex-Tory Speaker for them to oppose.

At this choosing the Conservatives should have adopted the alternative parties" gathering and put up a claimant opposite John Bercow, who defected to Labour in all but name in sequence to turn Speaker. Since then, he has lowered his bureau even serve in open esteem, which, entrance after Speaker Martin, competence have been thought impossible.

Alistair Cooke

London SW1

Why spelling went wrong

Andrew Morton (letter, fifteen April) is right to hold that creation English spelling ideally phonetic would confront a little difficulties. This is, however, no forgive for not perplexing to have it almost better.

Reducing a little of the infancy viewable English spelling anomalies, such as ouch touch; fiend friend; earearly would not even be difficult. Such abuses of the alphabetic element assistance to safeguard that around 100,000 English 16-year-olds finish their preparation each year scarcely as undeveloped as they proposed it eleven years earlier. Even a small rebate in gratuitously strange and formidable spellings would lead to a estimable diminution in their number.

Many English difference were progressing spelt infancy improved (erly, frend, bild, iland, thare). They were altered generally in the 16th century, during the initial copy of English bibles, since they were printed abroad, by printers who spoke no English. By the finish of the 16th century English spelling had turn so perplexed that most people called for improvements. This resulted in estimable shedding of over-abundance letters, generally on Civil War pamphlets (1642-9). The likes of "inne anne olde worlde shoppe" were embellished to "in an old universe shop".

Sadly, regressive greeting arrested this culling prior to the pursuit was accomplished (have, give, imagine). Johnsons compendium of 1755 stopped all serve improvement.

Now that we are commencement to assimilate that rarely strange spelling is a separator to mending altogether tutorial attainment, there is obligatory need to re-examine the peace of mind of English spelling.

Masha Bell

Wareham, Dorset

On a new revisit to Bath Abbey, I saw an marker in "honor" of a defunct gentleman. If we could write "honor" in 1750, since cant we write it today? After all, we no longer write "mirrour" and "horrour" as Dr Johnson told us to.

Robert Craig

Weston-super-Mare, Somerset

Please can someone insist how, if the spelling of English is simplified, pupils taught by such a process would be means to examination anything created prior to such a shift was made?

Pamela Smith

Alton, Hampshire

Dont learn to the Sats test

A protest of Sats tests by headteachers would be blank the target. A Sats exam is a short image of a pupils capability to answer a little questions. Nowhere does it state that teachers have to outlay weeks coaching pupils in how to pass them.

It is the headteachers who indoctrinate their teachers to manager the pupils to pass the tests. By proposing to protest the tests, the headteachers are giving us the misfortune of all worlds; the squandered time and highlight in scheming for tests, but gift any feedback on progress.

If the head-teachers wish to have a point and yield a great at the same time, rather than protest the tests they should simply exclude to manager the young kids in the tests. If each propagandize did this, the tests would still concede comparisons in between schools to be made, but but the time, tedium, slight concentration and purported highlight of coaching.

All it needs is for the training contention to certitude their colleagues in alternative schools or classes not to coach. That"ll occur when?

Peter Moss

Chippenham, Wiltshire

What about the curved banks?

We right away listen to that Goldman Sachs is being charged with fraud. At the time of the credit break all sorts of stories of rascal and malpractice, here in the UK, not customarily in the USA, were printed in The Independent and the Financial Times. One bank was rumoured to be overloading decaying bonds in to investment vehicles that they fast sole off to gullible investors.

When is the UK probity complement going to act? We dont even have an exploration in to it all, let alone prosecutions. The dignified failure the Prime Minister complains about is here in the UK also. Do we have to wait for once again until US sovereign courts extradite British felons to the US for hearing and conviction?

Philip Morgan

Winchester

The arrogance engineers face

I, too, am an wiring pattern operative from the prolongation sector, and Ian Quayles references to the class-based amicable arrogance that exists towards the engineering contention are correct (letter, sixteen April). Radio 4s new foe entitled So You Want to Be a Scientist is a great e.g. of this. No possibility of R4 hosting a foe entitled So You Want to Be an Engineer.

The salaries paid to UK engineers in the prolongation zone are low compared with those in the healing and authorised professions since engineers have to tarry in a rival universe economy. For example, once a UK association is the plant of a rapacious takeover with prolongation and egghead skill exported to China afterwards the R&D engineers are left with little, if any, income negotiating powers.

Dr Lawrence Jones

Liverpool

Biopsies for prostate cancer

Jeremy Laurances essay on Nice identifying intensity cost assets (13 April) is acquire and constructive. We at Pelican Cancer Foundation, a small gift appropriation investigate in to prostate cancer treatment, determine that the stream studious pathway seems unnecessarily assertive for the infancy of men.

The prostate stays the customarily organ that still has a "blind" biopsy and, at the moment, all patients with a lifted PSA (prostate specific antigen), a notoriously false exam for prostate cancer, are sent for a biopsy. This is invasive, dear and carries a small risk of infection, and reaches customarily 75 per cent of the gland. In effect, such tests are stabbing for results.

It has been determined that a large fit of prostate cancers will never grow or bluster a mans life. We hold that modernized MRI sequences can successfully brand clinically critical lesions ignoring not as big considerate growths and shortening the series of men carrying a biopsy.

Further developments in this area, as Pelican are pursuing, yield a map of the total prostate for a some-more correct biopsy for those fewer men who need it, and assistance minimise studious annoy and cost to the health service.

Sarah Crane

Chief Executive

Pelican Cancer Foundation

Basingstoke, Hampshire

Still burying bad news

Controlled timing by Government of recover of reports from eccentric advisory committees to fit domestic objectives has once again been exposed. ("Critical ethanol examination dark by mephedrone row", nineteen April).

Delay in releasing reports of commentary constructed by consultant one after another committees distorts correct one after another examination of what is right away well known on a subject of open interest, and can lead to the open being misled, as well as to hasty, unlawful bureaucratic decision-making.

Scrutiny of lists of supervision reports available announcement reveals a outrageous backlog. Authors should forcefully question reasons for delay.

Hazel Thornton

(Honorary Visiting Fellow, Department of Health Sciences, University of Leicester)

Colchester Essex

Multiple images

I am a basic in west Oxfordshire and have customarily viewed David Camerons choosing leaflet, that contains no fewer than eight photos of the man himself. Is this a record?

David Bowman

Long Hanborough, Oxfordshire

Vegetarian foxes

We have the undiluted answer to Jason Robertsons worries about foxes eating voles (letter, nineteen April). Be kind to both of them give the foxes vegetarian meals. Our internal accessible fox pops in continually to suffer a play of sultanas.

Jean Elliott

Upminster, essex

Better weather

Its viewable that what we all need is a volcanological shift of wind, and a domestic breeze of change.

Stephen Moorbath

Oxford

Perspectives on a new governing body

The partys over if we opinion to finish it

The really actuality that the leaders of the 3 "main" domestic parties are receiving piece in televised showcases (they cannot be called debates) tells us all we need to know about ubiquitous elections in Britain. It is right away insincere that, with a handful of exceptions, votes will be expel not for internal candidates, but for the celebration leaders. More fools, us, for going along with this.

There is no approach out of the domestic fen in to that Britain has been falling usually for decades unless the citizens wakes up on polling day and votes, everywhere, for any critical internal claimant and not for those who are station as domestic celebration clones.

Party governing body are murdering the democracy, with the inevitable mixed of domestic debts sought, due and paid; the termination of particular thought; open invitations to crime and unjustified change as a outcome of the income they need in sequence to run their celebration machines and campaigns. And, maybe misfortune of all, the strikingly amateurish nonentities that the benefaction complement throws to the tip of the store as supervision ministers.

The partys over. Send critical eccentric MPs to Parliament, and, as shortly as probable after that, have Parliament prepare for us to have a created constitution whose initial proviso will be to apart the legal body from the executive. A new complement would safeguard that MPs cannot be ministers, ministers cannot be MPs and a massively marked down series of inhabitant departments of state would be run by people recruited and allocated from the most appropriate of the best, under obligation to a council that is eccentric in each sense.

The reduction as prior to will be as sour and diseased for Britain as it is now. We have to move in a utterly new domestic direction.

John Grierson

Helston, Cornwall

Clegg rises on top of the name-calling

In the initial TV discuss Nick Clegg went from the wallflower to the man strutting his things in "Saturday Night Fever". According to the ultimate BPIX poll, he came opposite as honest, smart and some-more charismatic than the alternative dual leaders.

Gordon Brown and David Cameron have customarily themselves to censure for being viewed as "typical full of blood politicians" in the eyes of voters. Week after week the dual of them have clinging their time to name-calling and impression assassination. They have trashed each alternative to such an border that a great piece of the citizens right away regards the span as tarnished.

Of course, Labour and Conservative aides wouldnt be seeking for ways to polish-up their particular leaders they"ll be seeking for mud to take the gleam off Clegg. They havent grasped the actuality that the citizens have sleepy of the mudslinging, the spin, the undisguised lies and the fervour of self-indulgent politicians

Regardless of the choosing outcome, Clegg has brought a some-more grown-up poise to politics.

Alan Aitchison

Wakefield, West Yorkshire