Daily Mail Letters

Yes, it is with some sadness (but mostly relief), that I announce the closure of dmletters.blog.co.uk.

But fear not, Mail letter watchers, for I am merely moving this and integrating it as a regular feature of my other blog. This means that on the days where there are no good letters or I simply can't be bnothered, there's probably something else to read! At least that's the plan.

You can now find me at
You don't have to register to post, and regular posters may find their blog addresses listed on mine (something I either can't do or haven't worked out how to do here).

You can either bookmark the address or use the RSS/atom feeds on the page. Or neither.

Anyway, thanks to all contributors here - see you on the other side!

Some comments from Annette Hedworth:

The possibilty of David Beckham receiving a knighthood in the 2007 New Year's Honours is of particular interest to me as I have nominated Jane Tomlinson MBE, cancer patient and charity fundraiser, for a damehood in that list.
I was told by the Honours Department that Jane would not be eligible for another award until June 2008 because of the strict five-year rule. David Beckham received his previous award in 2003, so surely the five-year rule should apply to him too.

Yes, but I'd imagine talk of David Beckham getting a knighthood next year is probably a total fabrication by...um, let's see...the Daily Mail.

The fun don't stop in today's Straight To The Point. And Alun Davies:

As I can only wear one pair of spectacles at a time, rather than two pairs for the price of one, can an optician sell me on at half price?

No, bugger off.

And what would the Mail be without some gay references:

When Flintoff leads his team out for the first Test match against Australia wearing his diamond ear stud, I hope he remembers to leave his handbag in the dressing room

"Flintoff wears an ear stud? Poofter must have a handbag too!"

Airport security is the first topic today and we have a letter from Tom Elliot. Who lives in Germany:

Flying from Gatwick last week, I was shocked at the way in which security controls are out of control.
A man in front of me had a beautiful new Montblanc pen confiscated because it was pointed and dangerous.
All lighters must be thrown away. I threw my plastic lighter in the bag but asked the girl what would happen if I had had a DuPont. She said I would have had to throw it away too. The situation needs investigating

So, we should only allow expensive things on planes? You can bet that if a plane from Gatwick was blown up, Tom Elliot would be wondering how on earth they were allowed to bring a bomb on.

That well known husband and wife Name and Address Supplied are back today. The Supplieds say today:

I didn't complete the census last time, regarding it merely as an attempt to keep a database on us all

Er, yes, I think that's the idea.

We had a few anxious times hiding from the 'census bobby'

Ah, so you disagree with it but you're too shit scared to face the music. Not much of a rebel, Mr Supplied.

That's it from me today. Come back next time, or go to Mailwatch, where I can often be found

It's been a while since I've separated the letters and STTP. I'm feeling very much more...kind of like enthusiastic, but with less of the "I care now" sentiment. I always cared .

Anyway, before I go on too much, here's today's STTP!
Les Perrins (his parents should have named him Lea-and):

It creates 650 millionaires every 5 years. Go on, have a go - it could be you! Stand for election to the House of Commons!

Ah yes, MPs, those well known millionaires. Who get a salary of about £70 000. Which is a lot, but not quite a million.

Jim Kiley now:

Further to the young woman who hopes to pay off her credit card bill by selling her eggs. I don't want her eggs, but I wouldn't mind some of her bacon

Dear me.....

Liz Payne of Preston gets things going:

I am reeling from the accusation that Preston is the race hate capital of Britain (Mail - unsurprisingly). It's simply not true.
To suggest that areas such as Deepdale are exclusively Asian is factually wrong - there might be a higher proportion of Asians than in other areas but there are plenty of white people living there too.
The references to 'Coronation Street-style houses' were condescending.

And you can apply all the emboldened phrases to any Mail story.

A faintly amusing story, though I can imagine certain people falling over themselves with laughter and gathering the family round to tell them. It's from Ewen Brenchley:

The plans for council tax snoopers reminded me of my cunning neighbour in the Midlands years ago. He wrote to the local council asking by how much his home's rateable value would be increased by if he erected a 6ftx4ft shed in his back garden. They told him this would warrant a £7 increase.
'Good,' he wrote back, 'So as I have just taken down a shed of those dimensions, would you please reduce my rateable value by that amount?'

Amazingly, they did. So heh to that man.

Anyone reading this bemoaning the lack of any moaning need look no further. It's about the BBC, as well, so extra moanability. And it comes all the way from T. Cleal's house:

I'm not surprised that the BBC has had to admit to bias and political correctness. Just watch a few episodes of Casualty.
A young man is brought to A&E and his 'father' comes to visit him. Pregnant pauses and double takes by the nursing staff, the man is not his father but his older gay lover

OMG!!!!!1111eleventy!!! GAYS!!! ON TV!!!!!!

Casualty is not really about disease and accidents. It's about force-feeding an ideology - something the BBC is very good at.

Yeah, whatever.

I bid you goodbye.

We have been graced with THREE whole pages of letters. That's a lot of shite. M Rose starts us off this fine day:

If there are 1.7million unemployed people and a further 2.7million on incapacity benefit, why is our local JobCentre open only two days a week 'due to staff shortages'?

Answer: A little thing called labour immobility.
Also, points to you for mentioning those well-known work-shirkers, the 2.7million people physically or mentally incapable of doing work

The letters special today regards Carol Sarler's "article" about doctors. And not the afternoon BBC1 programme. Keera Rowland from Woodlea House surgery in Bournemouth (which I have seen many a time but I can't for the life of me think where it is!) says:

I'd like to invite the opiniated Carol Sarler to spend a week at our surgery and experience the day to day life of a busy, dedicated GP before being killed with a lethal dose of anything we can get our hands on.

OK, so my mind wondered a bit reading that. But despite my wishful thinking, the letter goes on to mention that Carol Sarler is wrong and GPs are actually hard-working and dedicated. Which they are, so up yours Carol Sarler.