Tag: letters

Letters: Barcoded Stamps

Dear Editor,

Your readers will have seen that our ‘every day’ stamps are changing. We are adding unique barcodes to stamps to pave the way for innovative services for our customers and to enhance the security of the postal service.

We are encouraging customers to find and use-up any non-barcoded stamps before 31 January 2023. However, if customers are unable to use them up by then, we will exchange them for barcoded stamps completely free of charge.

Our ‘Swap Out’ scheme will open on 31 March 2022. Customers will be able to print out a form from our website, call our Customer Experience team to ask for one or pick one up from their local Delivery Office’s Customer Service Point. 

More details about our ‘Swap Out’ scheme will be announced soon, but in the meantime please be assured that all existing stamps remain valid for postage in the usual way.

Yours faithfully,

Nick Landon,

Chief Commercial Officer, Royal Mail

Letters: Pet-friendly renting

Dear Editor,

During the pandemic, many of us have benefited from the companionship, fun and comfort that comes from owning a cat. However, for many people in Scotland who rent rather than own their own home, cat ownership isn’t an option.

Blanket ‘no-pet’ policies and limited cat-friendly rented homes can make it difficult for some people to ever experience the pleasure of owning a cat. In other cases, owners are placed in the heartbreaking situation of having to rehome a much-loved cat if they need to move and can’t find another pet-friendly rental.

Cats Protection has been working to help more renters experience the joy cat ownership, and we need the help of cat lovers in Scotland. The Scottish Government is currently consulting on proposals to allow tenants to keep pets in rented accommodation, potentially giving responsible renters greater rights to cat ownership. We need your help to back these proposals and send a message that renters in Scotland deserve the chance to have a cat.

You can add your support for the proposals by using Cats Protection’s simple online form – it takes only a couple of minutes to complete.

Find out more by visiting: www.cats.org.uk/scottish-renters

Alice Palombo

Advocacy & Government Relations Officer (Scotland), Cats Protection

Letter: Stride for Stroke challenge

Dear Editor

Like so many others, stroke has left a really devastating legacy on my family. My dad died of a stroke and his dad, my grandfather, had a major stroke which left him unable to speak again. 

But many people don’t realise that the vast majority of strokes – around 80-90% in fact – are preventable, which is why I’m supporting the Stroke Association’s Stride for Stroke campaign as my New Year’s resolution.  

I exercise regularly, try to eat healthily and keep an eye on my blood pressure, which are all ways to help lower your risk of stroke – but there’s more we can all do…

So this year, the charity is challenging everyone who cares about this devastating condition, and who is able to do so to walk 10,000 steps a day for 130 days. If that’s something you could do, that would add up to 1.3million steps, one for every stroke survivor in the UK.

Stroke strikes every five minutes in the UK and it changes lives in an instant. However, with our support, the Stroke Association can help more stroke survivors and their families find hope and rebuild their lives.

So come on, if you’re looking for a New Year’s resolution that will make a huge difference, why not take on the Stride for Stroke challenge? Sign up today at www.stroke.org.uk/stride   

Thank you and Happy New Year,

Vogue Williams

Letters: Happy and healthy kittens

Dear Letters Editor,

With online pet sales on the increase, Cats Protection would like to warn of the potential risk of buying an ill or diseased kitten.

This year the charity has heard of many kittens that were taken from their mothers at too young an age and sold online for the sake of a quick profit. Kittens should be at least eight weeks old so that they are fully weaned and developing normally from a health and behavioural perspective. 

Unsuspecting buyers did not realise that they bought a potentially sick kitten until after purchase which meant they were sometimes left with high veterinary bills, or in some cases, a kitten which tragically died.

Action Fraud also reports that there has been a six-fold increase in instances of kitten and cat fraud (1,146 in 2020/21 compared to just 190 in 2019/20), underlining the need for buyers to be vigilant.

Please visit www.cats.org.uk/eight-weeks for advice on how to purchase a happy and healthy kitten or give a donation to help Cats Protection care for unwanted kittens.

Yours faithfully,

Dr Maggie Roberts

Director of Veterinary Services, Cats Protection

Letters: Mary’s Meals Christmas

Dear Editor, 

The charm of the presents under our Christmas tree lies partly in their very different shapes and sizes. Perhaps the same could be said of our own families. None of them look the same.  

Take 12-year-old Hawa – she lives with her granny, an aunt and four cousins in Liberia. Often there is not enough food for her family to eat. 

Mary’s Meals serves nutritious food at school to children living in some of the world’s poorest countries, attracting them into the classroom where they receive an education that can, in the future, be their ladder out of poverty. 

More than two million children receive our life-changing meals every school day – including Hawa. 

I am pleased to tell you that, until 31 January 2022, donations made to our  Double The Love campaign will be matched, up to £1.6 million, by a generous group of supporters.  

Those children receiving Mary’s Meals might not have a pile of presents to unwrap on Christmas morning, but their dreams are alive and well, thanks to those who share our belief that every child should have enough to eat and go to school. 

You can learn more about our work by visiting marysmeals.org.uk 

Have a wonderful Christmas, 

Magnus MacFarlane-Barrow, founder of Mary’s Meals  

Letters: Switch the salt and reduce your risk of stroke

Dear Editor

Around 776,579 people adults in Scotland have been diagnosed with high blood pressure in Scotland, with many more remaining undiagnosed and unaware.

That’s extremely worrying to our charity as high blood pressure is one of the leading causes of stroke.

One of the ways to reduce blood pressure is to reduce your sodium intake. Most of this sodium is in the salt we eat and that’s why we’re proud to support Season with Sense, a public health campaign which aims to drive down consumer sodium intake.

The good news is that by making small changes to our diet – such as cutting the amount or type of salt – we can greatly reduce our risk of serious health issues.

If you find it hard to cut out salt completely, there are alternatives to regular table, sea and rock salts such as LoSalt® which has two thirds less sodium without any taste compromise.

Find out more at www.seasonwithsense.com. 

When you’re out shopping, watch out for the special tubs of LoSalt® on sale in supermarkets. For every tub sold a 20p donation will be made to help fund the vital work we do to support stroke survivors and carers.

The tubs will also have information attached to help shoppers understand the FAST test. Face, Arms, Speech, are the most common signs that someone is having a stroke. Time tells you that Stroke is a medical emergency and you must phone 999 straight away. We are thrilled that this vital information will be getting into the hands of 150,000 people.

Please do note that if you take some types of medication that affect potassium levels, LoSalt® and other reduced sodium salt alternatives may not be suitable for you. This includes people receiving medication for diabetes, heart or kidney disorders. Check with your GP for advice.

John Watson

Associate Director Scotland, The Stroke Association

Letters: World Pancreatic Cancer Day

Dear Editor, 

Ahead of World Pancreatic Cancer Day on November 18th I’m writing to highlight the importance of learning the symptoms of this devastating disease. 

Worryingly, our new survey tells us that nearly a third of people in the UK would wait three months or more to seek help from their GP if they had potential symptoms of pancreatic cancer. That’s at least three times longer than recommended. 

The findings also show that the pandemic is actively deterring people from contacting their doctor, with 31% saying they would delay seeking help for longer than usual. Pancreatic cancer symptoms – which can include tummy and back pain, indigestion. unexplained weight loss and oily floating poo – are common to less serious health conditions and, tragically many people are diagnosed too late for lifesaving treatment.

In Scotland nearly 1,000 people are diagnosed with the disease each year. 

I would urge anyone who experiences some, or all, of these symptoms persistently for more than four weeks to contact their GP. Early diagnosis is vital to give people the very best chance of survival.  

Pancreatic Cancer UK have made a short video explaining the symptoms we all need to look out for. Please watch and share it with your loved ones.

It could help someone be diagnosed in time for lifesaving treatment. 

https://youtu.be/m_qVP2oau0c

www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk/the-common-symptoms-of-pancreatic-cancer 

Our Specialist nurses are here to provide support and information to anyone affected by pancreatic cancer on our confidential support line on (Freecall: 0808 801 0707). 

Thank you,

Dianne Dobson 

Pancreatic Cancer UK Specialist Nurse  

Letters: Close the Skills Gap

Dear Editor,

Yesterday’s government figures showed that job vacancies have hit a record high of 1.2 million, an increase of 20% in the past three months. It’s seems like a no-brainer that our young people should be able to train to fill these roles.

Many of the sectors continuing to battle with skills shortages, such as construction, manufacturing, and hospitality, are reliant on Level 2 vocational qualifications as a direct route into jobs in these industries.

Yet, the Government has failed to prioritise these lower level, work-ready qualifications, instead focusing their post-16 policy and funding at qualifications of A Level standard and above.

The Government have a chance to close the skills gap and the disadvantage gap that is so significant among 16-19-year-olds, boost the economy and give young people the future they deserve. But to do this, they must ensure a wide range of high-quality, employer-endorsed options are available at all levels.

Yours,

Campbell Robb

Chief Executive, Nacro

Letters: RNIB gets set for Santa

Dear Editor,

With the festive season nearly upon us, Santa and his elves are already busy getting everything prepared to make sure every child has a magical Christmas.

As always, Santa is expecting to receive millions of letters from children all over the world with asks of what they’d like to receive in their stockings on Christmas Day.

To make sure that every child can read his reply, Santa has teamed up with the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) to make his letters available in accessible formats, including braille, audio and large print, for children who have a vision impairment.

Last year, the elves sent 1,465 letters from Santa to blind and partially sighted children across the UK, helping them experience the same magic of Christmas as sighted children.

If you know a child who has a vision impairment and who would love to receive a letter from Santa, please send their Christmas letter to: Santa Claus, RNIB, Northminster House, Northminster, Peterborough, PE1 1YN.

Santa has also gone digital! Email santa@rnib.org.uk by Wednesday 22 December for an email response with a large print attachment.

Letters can also be requested through RNIB’s website at www.rnib.org.uk/santa.

On behalf of Santa, his elves and all at RNIB, we wish you a Merry Christmas!

David Clarke

Director of Services, Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)

Letters: The Air We Breathe

Dear Editor

Financial organisations are operating heavily in ore mining, oil extraction, shale drilling, coal mining and – worst of all – they are active in the destruction of the world’s forests.

The rapid destruction has now reached 70% of our forests. Behind these ghastly figures stand the faceless multinational financial organisations.

The felling of the world’s trees reduces the ability of the forests to produce the oxygen that we humans need to breathe. The rate of oxygen decrease is destructive to humans, animals and sea stocks.

We have the knowledge of this terrible destruction being carried out by these exploiters. The oxygen cannot be replaced because the forest has been chopped down – it has gone!

We know who is doing this and they know who they are – causing catastrophe!

Our government – all governments – must immediately stop this destruction of the rain forests, the soil erosion and the terrifying population dispalcement.

A. Delahoy

Silverknowes Gardens

NOTE: Tony may be heartened by announcements expected from the COP26 conference later today – ED.