'Is the weather forecast becoming a forecast of fear?' - your letters, plus a look back at M54 construction in 1975

​Call for common sense forecasts

The summer season of 2025 will go into recorded history as the warmest.

From scorchio to snow bombs guessing the weather, whether you get it right or wrong is our second most popular sport, behind shoplifting, across the country.

Meteorologists and local weather forecasters have upped their game in sensationalising forecasts. Weather is the new big sale.

We've been over informed by our headlines and news broadcasts about impending doom from gale force winds, floods from rain storms, icy freezing conditions of snow bombs to sun burning droughts.

Indeed, we have even started guessing the names of the next wind threats. It’s turning the great British weather into a forecast of fear, over reaction and error strewn media noise.

Ancient articles from environmentally friendly nature 'experts' fill columns with news of foreboding and worry as trees, shrubs and wildlife adapt to climate change. Many out date before publication.

Weather is everywhere from satellite graphs to website, mobile phone apps, to bus stop gossip. How often are the forecasts accurate or right in your area?

This past summer 2025 meteorologists enjoyed the lazy hazy days of summer. Travelling or 'home working', into work they didn't have to work too hard about the forecast content. How hard can it be?

It never ceases to amuse me, how after a lunch time chat with family and friends across the region, the afternoon forecast is more accurate than the early morning picture coming from the weather experts.

Time for the extension and coordination of 'citizen science' methinks. 

Nothing beats on the spot reporting, rather than expensive guesses and graphics from strangely inaccurate computer data.

Basically, lets go for accuracy over sensationalism. Common sense over health warnings. 

The future’s so bright you will have to wear shades and, sunny side up for 2026.

Doug James, Midlands

Just a grey day on the moon

And so the Yanks start the journey back to the moon, to prove Earth is not flat and hopefully to make plans for picking up all that bloody rubbish they left on the lunar surface from 1969 to 1972. Humans it seems equals rubbish wherever they go.

Of course many of us remember the original landings and, it has to be said, the boredom of the landscape, looking very grey, with hints of more grey in the distance, grey craters, grey hills and well what can I say, more grey. When the Yanks do land watch out for NASA spending a lot of time and money on gimmicks to distract the TV audience from the fact there ain't a lot going on up there and did I mention its very grey.

Of course the original astronauts were in a lot more danger due to the primitive computer systems of that era, thank goodness things have advanced so much that even before an astronaut thinks about it a highly intelligent A.I. computer will instruct a robot to change their pants while they are sleeping. Astronauts can specify if they want this done by a "female" robot or a "male" robot or just take pot luck.

Of course such a lunar adventure needs careful planning and while enjoying another invigorating walk Uncle Norbert and I came up with our own list of essentials to survive a moon landing. Firstly copious supplies of Aunt Dolly's Winter cake and plenty of underwear, especially for the blast off, but Uncle Norbert and I would retain manual control of any change of pants. For comfort I would take my favourite teddy bear, Bruno. For his comfort Uncle Norbert would try and sneak a crate of brown ale onboard. There is a precedent for a lunar "booze cruise," why do you think so much went wrong on Apollo 13?

Peter Steggles, Rushbury

Mad M54 driving

What’s in the minds of motorists who drive an inch from the back of lorries?

I travel on the M54 each day and some people seem to have a death wish.

David Storey, Bridgnorth

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