'NHS 111 service saved me in my time of need' - Your views and a nostalgic 1968 picture of the A442 near Bridgnorth

May I give my sincere thanks to the NHS 111 service East Midlands for coming out to me on August 13. I had been told by the receptionist at my GP practice that my GP didn’t come out to wounds and there was no district nurse available.

My GP was fully aware that I’d recently had major surgery for bowel cancer, so to be told the above was mind boggling.

The protocol verbally when I was discharged from the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, if I should get any weeping from my five wounds in my tummy to get one’s GP out to check.

The care from the/my surgeon and team was overwhelming, “keeping me on the journey”, but I was let down by my GP practice, what was a simple request.

Kev (Benj) Minton,  Newport

China key to stopping Russia

A quick way, quicker than Trumps, to end Russia’s illegal war on the Ukraine, would be for countries  to say to China and others, source your energy, oil and gas from anywhere other than Russia.China would not survive as an economic power if their production was only supported by the few countries “ friendly " to them.If the rest of the world suggested to China that they would source their products from elsewhere it should cause China to reconsider. After all it does seem that we as purchasers of Chinas products are, in an indirect way, supporting this illegal war.

Name, address supplied.

Flag waving at the conference

Did my eyes deceive me? Whilst watching the PM’s speech at the Labour Conference I was shocked by the amount of delegates, including Ministers, waving England flags. Labour Ministers, past and present, have labelled such flag wavers as racists. Will the police be investigating this shameful exhibition of flag waving?

Mike Avery, Asterley

My letter for bosses at M&S

​So you went ahead and closed the Wolverhampton store. This is one of the final nails in the M&S coffin.

This store was important to the town. It was once important to M&S when you were a proud British company that made it’s reputation on respecting customers.

It was important to my family; my father once worked there before the war and the experience, the respect, stayed with him into old age. I am pleased my mother is no longer here to see the demise of her favourite store.

And I suppose that’s the point. You have lost the women. You lost the men, those under 70 at least, years ago.

Let’s hope the gastronome market is big enough to sustain what used to be a regular £1 billion profit company.

Clearly it’s not big enough to sustain, if the local mythology is to be believed, what was once the largest M&S store outside London.

Of course, you can become an out-of-town experience on soulless shopping parks. Invisible and forgotten by most.

Or compete with the supermarkets and more agile, trendy newcomers operating out of Crawley and Milton Keynes industrial estates, online. Good luck with that.

When you were struggling, after Rick Greeenbury’s departure in early 2000s, you were able to trade on your reputation. People wanted M&S to do well. There are academic case studies on it.¶No longer.

M&S has behaved like all the others and closed once flagship stores. Except if can’t compete with some and will go down with the others.

It’s a sad day. Good bye.

John Swannick, Via email