Letters: In these testing times, the kindness of strangers has come to the fore

SIR – The other day I phoned my local pub at 11.30 am. Less than an hour later I was handed eggs, potatoes and loo rolls, with free delivery. What fantastic support for older people in this village.

Diane Donnelly
Bassingbourn, Cambridgeshire

SIR – A word of warning to all those trying to arrange online deliveries for vulnerable relatives. I set up a Sainsbury’s account for my 82-year-old mother, who lives 200 miles away from me, and placed her first order for 18 items, none in hoarding quantities and all shown as available. When the driver arrived, he handed over some oranges, two pints of milk, a small block of cheese and a tub of Greek yogurt. The other 14 items were unavailable, and there were no alternatives.

There is little point prioritising people if they cannot get what they ordered. This also, of course, drives people to order lots of other things they do not really want, just in case.

Victor Launert
Matlock Bath, Derbyshire

SIR – Sainsbury’s has been very helpful to me. I was contacted by email and told that I had been designated as a vulnerable person because I am 84 years old, and was therefore entitled to a “slot”.

When I tried to go online I found that my account was locked, so I phoned the helpline. I had to wait for about half an hour, but then a very kind and patient lady talked me through the steps to log on, and I have now placed an order which is to be delivered today. It is a huge relief and I am grateful to Sainsbury’s for its efficiency and concern.

Jean Vowles
Andover, Hampshire

SIR – I have been shocked by the number of people in my food shops who have clearly never cooked before.

Now that restaurants are closed we are seeing people of all ages buying cutlery, salt, pepper and other simple things, as they have to prepare food and actually use their kitchen.

Eva Llewellyn
London SW3

RAF to the rescue

SIR – In previous emergencies over the years, the RAF has been used to repatriate British nationals.

Why is this not being done now? Surely a rough trip in the back of a Hercules is better than being stranded.

M D Plater
Highcliffe, Dorset

SIR – Like British Airways, easyJet has not shone in the current emergency.

My wife and I have a holiday to Italy booked with the airline, departing on April 18. It is obvious that this won’t happen, yet I have heard nothing. According to my online booking, I am still travelling. It is impossible to contact easyJet by phone or email.

I understand that the holiday companies are trying to cajole the Government into letting them give vouchers for cancelled holidays, rather than cash refunds, and I assume easyJet is hoping to do this too. But I’m no longer sure that I want to travel with a company that offers such abysmal customer service – unlike, incidentally, Ryanair, which refunded a cancelled flight booked for May without question and within minutes.

Michael Wilton
Birchington, Kent

SIR – Would it not be possible for British Airways, with its huge dormant aircraft capacity, to arrange rescue flights around the globe, in conjunction with our embassies?

John Dinley FRCS
Broadstone, Dorset

SIR – The NHS is under pressure like never before, the nation is in lockdown and great sacrifices are being made by everyone to see us through this crisis.

However, thousands of visitors – including from the US, Iran, Italy and China – are still allowed to land daily at our airports. (We, understandably, are not allowed to travel short distances to see family.) It is incomprehensible that there are no health checks on those arriving, and the “advisory” 14-day period of self-isolation for these visitors is unenforceable.

Protecting airlines should not be the priority; protecting citizens should. Give the NHS a chance to fight this disease without adding to its burden.

Peter Senior
Cambridge

SIR – I am a British passport holder and, having lived in Australia with my sons, decided to return here.

Now I find that my furniture and other belongings are in lockdown at Southampton docks, and likely to remain there for some time – for which I will probably be charged. Am I the only person suffering from this?

Sheila Wickenden
Lower Assendon, Oxfordshire

Support for business

SIR – My business employs 64 people and has a turnover of £10 million. I have just furloughed 59 staff. Many have made significant salary sacrifices.

Even so, we will run out of money at some stage. Before this happens, I will be forced to start laying staff off.

The Chancellor said that good businesses will get a loan on favourable terms (“whatever it takes”). But I was wrong to think that the government-backed loan was to support small business. It’s not: it’s a money-maker for the banks. We are asked for personal guarantees, proof of future income and cashflow models – and offered usurious terms and interest rates in return.

These loans should be interest-free, and made available to any profitable business immediately. The only question lenders should be asking is: how much do you need?

Peter Moore
London SW18

Vital postal workers

SIR – Just over a week ago, postal workers in Britain delivered a 94.5 per cent vote for strike action in our dispute with Royal Mail. Rather than call action, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) offered the business a period of calm, and suggested that our focus should be on the safety of our members and the customers we serve.

We also wrote to the Prime Minister, setting out how our members could help in the coming weeks and months. Postal workers can play a crucial role in keeping everyone connected and informed, delivering medical aid, checking on the elderly and vulnerable, delivering local services and supporting people working from home. We could also assist with food bank collections and the delivery of food parcels. All of this could be done while observing social-distancing guidance. Sadly, we have not received a formal reply from the Government.

This week postal workers in Ireland were asked to provide services for the elderly and vulnerable. The same needs to happen here. This isn’t about politics. It’s an opportunity to use the most extensive network, and one of the most trusted groups of workers in Britain, to ensure that this virus doesn’t leave millions of people isolated and without contact.

In times of national emergency, the universal postal service has played a vital role, and our members are ready to step up and support the country. We urge the Government and Royal Mail to take our offer. If our members are truly key workers, they should be delivering key services, not advertising mail.

Dave Ward
General Secretary, CWU
London SW19

Home truths

SIR – My wife and I are in our 70s and have been used to taking and picking up six grandchildren, by car, to local schools every day so that our children can pursue their careers.

Now that we are self-isolating and their parents are working from home, we have discovered what retirement is really like – and I can tell you that it is very, very boring.

Roger Foord
Chorleywood, Hertfordshire

SIR – To ease her isolation, an elderly acquaintance plans to telephone, each day, a different person on her Christmas card list whom she hasn’t spoken to for years – a brilliant idea.

Gordon Crocker
Millbrook, Cornwall

Don’t let your self-isolation beard run wild

SIR – Tim Hadland (Letters, March 22) tells us that he has “decided to grow a beard” while self-isolating.

I have also taken the decision to allow my beard to flourish, but would like to point out that Mr Hadland now has a responsibility to keep his facial adornment trimmed. This will help to fill the “shaving gap” he mentions.

Ron Hurrell
Benfleet, Essex

SIR – Mr Hadland should spend his “shaving gap” banishing his first week’s growth. He must have discovered by now that it just makes him touch his face more.

George R Taylor
Croydon, Surrey

SIR – I was disappointed by Mr Hadland’s letter, as I had been hoping to see the demise of the fashion for beards – which, along with stubble, indicate a lack of style.

Neale Edwards
Chard, Somerset

Police shouldn’t penalise adventurous walkers

SIR – I support the Government’s measures to combat coronavirus. My wife and I stay at home, shop once a week and get exercise by walking our two dogs.

However, I was taken aback by Derbyshire Police’s decision to distribute a video of a couple walking their dog in the middle of nowhere, at no risk to anyone.

We live in a small town, but a short drive takes us into open countryside, where anyone we meet can be given a wide berth. The alternative is to walk around the streets of our town, unable to let the dogs off the lead, while meeting large numbers of people on narrow pavements.

The police need to exercise common sense if they are to receive public co-operation. By all means disperse gatherings, but don’t pick on people exercising in the open air at a distance from others – even if they have used a car to get there.

Steve Black
Keyworth, Nottinghamshire

SIR – Seven years ago I was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer, and for a period of four months, while undergoing chemotherapy, I had to self-isolate.

Although I live on the edge of the countryside with a flock of sheep as neighbours, I sometimes felt the need to lift my spirits by driving just a few miles to a local beauty spot, where I would sit in the car with my wife, drinking a flask of coffee, reading or just looking into the distance through a pair of binoculars. This did much to keep me sane during a dark period of my life from which I am now thankfully recovered.

While I support the measures being taken to contain Covid-19, it seems to me that, by persecuting those who wish to cheer themselves up by venturing into the deserted hills of Derbyshire, the police are denying them an opportunity to avoid depression (which could put an even greater strain on the NHS). It is also a questionable use of police resources. Officers should be focusing on serious crime rather than needlessly targeting innocent individuals.

Ian Sharp
Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire