State pension is not a benefit — we’ve earned it LETTER OF THE WEEK

STOP sniping at pensioners! It’s claimed taxpayers will be spending more on pensions in two years’ time than on defence, education and policing combined (Mail).

I appreciate pensions cost a lot, but I worked for 40 years paying full NationaI Insurance.

I receive the lower rate pension because I retired before 2016 and pay tax on a small private pension. I’m by no means wealthy.

No mention is made of the cost of state benefits paid to people who have never worked and have no intention of doing so.

KATH BURGESS, Heybridge, Essex. I PAID National Insurance all my working life, so I’m entitled to my state pension. The suggestion that it’s too expensive for the country is nonsense.

DAVID WOODS, St Ives, Cornwall.

Target freeloaders

I RETIRED from full-time work in September 2021 because of ill health, aged 71. I started work at 16 and had less than a year out giving birth to my two sons.

I always paid tax and insurance, and never once complained about supporting the elderly.

Now it is my turn to be in receipt of a well-earned state pension.

It’s not defence, policing and education that should be squeezed to support pensioners.

What about lazy, greedy, selfish people who do nothing for this country but expect handouts? S. SEYMOUR, London SW19.

The real big spenders

WILLIAM HAGUE wants to scrap the triple lock on the state pension because he says it’s unsustainable. I’ve got a much better idea: scrap the House of Lords, overseas aid and HS2 that waste taxpayers’ cash.

FREDERICK AYLEY, Ashford, Kent.

IT’S economic ignorance and naivety that public sector pensions are paid out of general taxation instead of contributions that are invested, as is the case with private pensions. Why should we expect the taxpayer to fund these enormous costs?

DAVID ROWE, Wirral.

Don’t fake it

I AGREE with food expert Joanna Blythman about fake meat (Mail).

I’ve been a vegetarian for 40 years and was happy when vegan products were launched in supermarkets — until I tried some of the plant-based burgers, sausages and ready meals.

They are too spicy, too expensive and I dislike the beetroot ‘fake blood’. I am happy to get back to cooking from scratch.

CAROL ROSENBERG-FOX,

Stevenage, Herts. HOW do we know fake meat tastes like burnt dog food, as claimed?

JOY JAMES, Nottingham.

Customer is right

I AGREE that supermarkets are ignoring the wishes of their customers (Letters).

Last week, lots of Asda staff were trying to persuade customers to use self-service tills. They would have been more useful on the checkouts, reducing the queues.

I feel sorry for staff dealing with customers’ complaints. One lady reported that she had written to the manager and the Asda CEO but hadn’t received a response. What happened to the adage that the customer is always right?

B. WALSH, Morecambe, Lancs.

Save our shops

SADLY, it looks as though Wilko is going the way of Woolworths. I shall be sad if it can’t be rescued as it’s so convenient to pick up decorating, washing, household and electrical goods in one store.

Wilko is often the biggest shop in town centres, so it would leave a huge hole on the High Street.

Online shopping has much to answer for. When all the shops have gone, it will be too late to say something should have been done.

LESLEY BOON, Corsham, Wilts.

Keen on kilts

THANK you, Jan Moir, for a valiant support of kilts, which have been rejected by the Prince of Wales.

My family faced a similar dilemma. My son was not prepared to wear a Campbell kilt for his wedding, as is our tradition.

I hit on the compromise of tartan trousers, which he wore proudly on his big day. Perhaps William might be persuaded to do the same.

IAN ELLIOTT, Belfast. THERE’S no skirting around the fact that Prince William was born to wear a kilt.

V. HEFTER, Richmond, Surrey.

Put the brakes on

WE’VE all become more demanding in our day-to-day energy use.

When I was growing up, families bathed once or twice a week in shared water. Now most of us shower once or twice a day. No wonder there are hosepipe bans to conserve water.

We used to heat just the living room and put on an extra jumper if we were cold. On sunny days, we opened doors and windows to create a cooling draught.

Now houses are heated all winter and we have electric fans or airconditioning in summer.

Using up our natural resources at this frightening rate is surely unsustainable. We are not walking towards Doomsday, we are running downhill with no brakes to slow us down.

D. M. DEAMER, York.

Essential service

BT IS forging ahead with its wi-fi digital phone conversion, thus making the landline obsolete.

The claim of friendly staff being available to help in an emergency sounds reassuring until you realise you won’t be able to contact them in a power cut.

Not every elderly person owns a mobile phone, let alone knows how to use one. Progress? I don’t think so.

KARL SHERIDAN, Holme-on-Spalding-Moor, E. Yorks.

TV hosts with the most

IT’S not just Bradley Walsh who is as friendly off camera (Letters).

My quizzing encounters started with Bob Monkhouse, of Family Fortunes, in 1982. He was a gentleman and easy to talk to. We shared an interest in silent films.

David Hamilton, Henry Kelly, Paul Coia and Jasper Carrot were brilliant chatters.

Eamonn Holmes was happy to talk to me about Manchester United and Northern Ireland.

I met Dermot O’Leary in South Africa — a lovely guy with entertaining opinions about Arsenal and Irish rugby.

And William G. Stewart, the presenter of Fifteen To One, was a true gent, interesting and kind.

ROBERT WILSON, Coleraine, Co. Londonderry.

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

‘DO NOT be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.’ Joshua 1:9