Heartfelt thanks to the oft-maligned 111 service, which responded so well to a call for help, to the ambulance service, A&E admissions and then the fantastic surgical, nursing and support team at Lewisham hospital, who dealt with my son’s sudden onset of appendicitis so promptly and effectively, despite him being Covid positive, and the hospital being under such pressure and so short-staffed. He was done, discharged and back home in less than 24 hours.
Name and address supplied
• Thank you for your list of the 50 best TV shows of 2021 (22 December). However, I managed to negotiate the year and preserve my mental health without seeing a single episode of any of them. Of far greater value were books, gardening and listening to music. I encourage readers to do the same.
Pete Lavender
Nottingham
• I searched through your pages while I scoured the list. However, the superlative, incomparable Money Heist was nowhere to be found. An astonishing omission, which at least guaranteed that you would publish my letter.
Barry Raymond Wolff
Cambridge
• A correspondent (Letters, 22 December) asks if his December-blooming Yorkshire rose is a good or bad thing. I would imagine that would depend on whether the flower is red or white.
Steve Carden
Southwick, West Sussex
• At one of his parties (Letters, 21 December), my late father-in-law, on waking up from a nap, said: “Are those buggers still here?”
Bill Hutty
Bath
• In your piece about Matt Hancock (‘He keeps coming back for more’: Matt Hancock’s rapid return to the fray, 22 December) you say that “after such a nightmarish year, Hancock could be forgiven for lying low”. Surely “low” is superfluous?
Mike Pender
Cardiff
• Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication.
