SIR,

Discussing global warming, credit crunch and other world maladies, one of our number made a thought provoking statement.

Bear in mind that the discussion group are in their late sixties and early seventies and, even one of eighty-two who had just returned from his annual skiing holiday.

The statement was 'that we had all lived through the best period ever'.

For a large period of our time we had nearly full employment, we made things in this country, we owned our businesses, Virgin Rail and First (worst) Great Western did not exist. And now health and safety has gone mad.

Safety zealots wanting trees cut down because the pine needles are sharp; schools closing because of a bit of frost, we always had slides in the playground and no one was hurt.

Kids not allowed to play conkers. People fined for having too much rubbish.

The perpetrators of this kind of nonsense should get a life. Insurance companies are very much to blame for this state of affairs.

I can imagine in future a walk in the woods would require the wearing of a hard hat lest one compromised your life cover.

Is it not time that people woke up to where these prats are taking us?

The restrictions on shopkeepers and their displays makes one's mind boggle. A greater hazard to the visually impaired (ye gods, blind!) are the mobility scooters driven by Hell's Grannies, even the able bodied are in jeopardy.

And now what, flower pots cannot be used to decorate the dull toilet block.

I worry for my grandchildren.

Bill Elliot

(Monmouth)