Education, Royal Mail and road safety – readers' letters, plus future PM Bonar Law in Shrewsbury in 1915

Roshan is right on education

Doctor Roshan Doug is spot on with his article about the blatant feminisation of our education system. We really have to stop this positive discrimination in favour of females and allow fair play.

I worked in companies where women have ganged together to push men out, with the blessing of the ultra feminised HR department.

If we do not have a level playing field we are doomed.

I saw this same problem with education in Australia decades ago, with many reports highlighting the growing influence of the feminine brain in education. Also happening in USA with men being cancelled for 'a hurty word', because it did not suit the females. Sorry lads discussion is now banned.

Chris Smith, Horsehay

Where has post service gone?

I have great concerns regarding our local Royal Mail delivery services. I am not sure when this change happened as I was away from mid May until end of August. The services were very reliable and friendly in the past. However since my return I noticed huge difference. In late September I booked a collection service but it was not collected. So I booked again for the following day. It was not collected. I had to take it to the local post office with difficulties as it was a bulky item. I made complaint to the Royal Mail.

Then in early October my parcel was delivered to the neighbour on a different street. Fortunately we know each other. The neighbour kindly delivered my parcel on his mobility scooter.

I made complaint but I was advised that no feedback can be given by the local depot on each individual case.

Now we haven’t had postal delivery for three days. We usually receive the week magazine every Friday. I am still waiting for last Friday’s copy. Shropshire Council sent my garden waste subscription sticker on October 12. It has not arrived.

These are the known posts I am waiting for. I don’t know how many unknown posts are missing. I do notice it’s a complete different delivery team doing the rounds in my neighbourhood. All new faces.

Hong Lindstrand, Oswestry

Concerns on London Road

Recent reports have appeared in the media about the tragic accident on London Road, Shrewsbury but as yet the cause of the incident is unknown so how can the chief executive of the council demand urgent action?

Unless the cause of the incident is understood it is impossible to ensure that any changes will solve the problem and are proportionate to the risk involved if indeed there is any risk at all. The last thing we need is a knee jerk reaction from our council with officials running around like headless chickens all too eager to introduce another of their ill considered crack pot road schemes that have the habit of causing more problems than they attempt to solve.

I have lived in Shrewsbury for over 40 years and have never known an accident of this magnitude on the London Road which considering the vast amount of people who use that road in vehicles, bicycles and on foot is an excellent safety record. Suggestions have been made that this road was designed for horse drawn vehicles and is not suitable for modern traffic which is just utter nonsense. Most of the length of London Road is quite safe and easily negotiated by every form of traffic until road users encounter the artificial pinch point caused by residents roadside parking nearly all of which also happens to be near Prestfelde School where the reported accident happened.

Local residents have called for action and claimed that some parked vehicles have suffered damage but seem unable to understand that they are the cause of the problem. Their parked vehicles restrict the useable width of London Road making it difficult for larger vehicles like lorries and buses to pass on their route to and from the town centre and I feel confident that this may well be found as a contributory factor to the current accident.

Nobody has the automatic right to park in the road in front of their house, and if doing so causes a road safety issue then the practise must be addressed and if need be curtailed.

London Road is a major arterial road in and out of Shrewsbury and I would suggest that a parking ban is well overdue thus making the road akin to a clearway similar to the highly successful 'red roads' in Birmingham.

I sincerely hope that our council will exercise a degree of restraint and common sense over this issue but I am not over confident.

Jon Lakin, Shrewsbury​

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