One of my neighbours is quarantining after a two-week holiday in France (infection rate 26 per 100,000). If she leaves the house, she could be fined up to £1,000. Another neighbour is just back from two weeks working in Manchester (infection rate 42.3 per 100,000). He is free to go out, socialise, shop and work. Does the government do joined-up thinking?
Paul Smith
Loughborough, Leicestershire
• Many years ago, my brother-in-law was having an NHS vasectomy (Letters, 17 August). A new nurse inspected him to see if he had shaved properly. She had to tidy up with a dry razor. As she completed the manoeuvre, she exclaimed, “There you are, all ready for the surgeon”, and inadvertently blew on the area. Not sure who was the more embarrassed. After an awkward pause, my brother-in-law piped up: “Just as well this was only NHS care.”
Pradip Bardolia
Wirral, Merseyside
• It might be the middle of August (Letters, 17 August), but we jam-makers have only just finished picking and cooking blackcurrants for jelly-making (delayed due to late frosts in May). Labour-intensive, but so worth the intense flavour.
Susan Gregory
Carnforth, Lancashire
• In this neck of the woods the blackberries are not yet ripe for picking, but I have a good crop of damsons, which I will be turning into puree and freezing.
Pam Wells
Addingham, West Yorkshire
• The observation that “politicians are like nappies” (Letters, 16 August) put me in mind of another: “Bureaucracies are like septic tanks – the biggest bits rise to the top.”
Anthony Lawton
Church Langton, Leicestershire
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