‘We’re not masking for fun – covid hasn’t gone away’
Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments.
One reader asks what’s wrong with being extra careful?
To the very rude gentleman in the Oxfam shop in Bromley on Sunday, who noticed I was wearing a face mask and said (loudly), in passing, ‘Covid was four years ago, what are you scared of?’
Covid hasn’t actually gone away and if I opt to wear a mask in public, that’s my choice and nothing to do with you.
Before you pass judgement on others, perhaps you might consider that there may be a reason why some wear a mask.
There are many older and immunocompromised people for whom Covid is still a very real threat, while others may be trying to protect a vulnerable friend or relative.
Vaccination helps but isn’t necessarily enough on its own, so what’s wrong with being extra careful?
I see other people wearing masks, so I know I’m not the only one.
We don’t do it for the fun of it and the inconsiderate attitude of people like you is not very helpful. Nevertheless, I hope you remain lucky enough to enjoy your obvious good health. Ann Smith, South-East London
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Circular map? Big mistake
Having just come back from the opticians with my vision confirmed as 20/20, I thought I would try it out on the Tube map redrawn by a university lecturer to more accurately reflect the distances between stations (Metro, Mon).
On the face of it, I thought the circular design was quite a good idea but I think I will stick with the TfL map, having noticed Osterley and Boston Manor are the wrong way round on the Piccadilly line.
Did anyone else spot other mistakes? If I’m the only one, do you want the name of my opticians? Steve Pratt, Brentford
This alternative Tube map may be ‘too radical’ for TfL but the current map has many drawbacks. Why, for example, is the National Rail Thameslink shown?
The London Rail And Tube Map, alas no longer available in print, shows all rail in London, while the tiny Pocket Tube Map is simply not fit for purpose.
Recent visits to Berlin and Paris show how it should be done. With six renamed Overground lines, all with different colours coming soon, the onus is now on TfL to rectify this iconic map. John O’Sullivan, Edmonton
Corin says having watched the Olympics in Paris, much of London in comparison looks ‘brutalised by horrific buildings’ (MetroTalk, Mon).
She is, though, wrong to think that picturesque 19th-century buildings were destroyed around Victoria station to make way for today’s gleaming glass and steel constructions. It was the post-war ugly boxes put up in the 1960s and 70s that have been knocked down. The same applies to much of the City of London, which she also mentions.
Of course, we should never have knocked down the Euston Arch or the Metropole cinema opposite Victoria station but today’s architecture is far better and more sustainable than that of half a century ago. Chris Shepherd, London
In answer to Corin asking why London fares so badly when measured against Paris regarding looking after old buildings, I would suggest that, unlike France, who surrendered to the Germans in 1940 (under the threat of the destruction of Paris), the British did not, thus enduring bombing of the capital in every area that is now enclosed by the M25. This resulted in more than 1.7million buildings being destroyed or damaged during Luftwaffe bombing raids and these buildings were replaced by temporary structures which, in turn, were replaced by cost-effective (cheap) structures by a country nigh on bankrupt following World War II.
We Londoners may not have the grandest buildings when compared with Paris but our heads can always be held a little higher when asked why Paris seems to be more aesthetically pleasing to the uninformed traveller’s eye. J Parkin, London
Not every patient can cope out in the community
Further to the discussion of the relative merits of psychiatric hospitals and ‘care in the community’ (MetroTalk, Tue), I remember many years ago running a pub with such a hospital nearby.
Some of the patients were allowed to visit the pub from time to time. There was talk of the hospital closing and the patients being cared for in the community.
I recall at least one of the patients telling me that they had no wish to leave the hospital as they were well cared for and wouldn’t know how to cope in a non-institutional environment. RA Smith, Witham
Buses that never come
I opted for using the bus on Monday and of three buses I could have caught, one sailed past with the driver apologising for seeing me too late.
The two others didn’t turn up. Is this normal for bus travel in the UK? Neil Dance, Birmingham
It really is a self-service
AH (MetroTalk, Tue) welcomes moves by Morrisons to cut back on self checkouts.
These blasted things are part of a growing trend whereby we, the customers, are forced to take on the work of those from whom we are buying a service.
This particularly gets my goat about online forms I am always having to fill in when, in the past, it would done by someone from the company in question. Gill, Hertford
Michael (MetroTalk, Tue) laments the increasing frequency with which posters on social media conclude their opinions with the words ‘End of’, as if to preclude any further debate.
Alas, it seems that this is just one of a number of annoying turns of phrase that have become increasingly prevalent across the web, which I fear we may see no end of. Julian Self, Wolverton