In MetroTalk: the beautiful game and moon caves and does Gareth Southgate deserve a knighthood?
You can’t deny that the Euros brought fans and casual viewers together in their support of the national team.
One reader writes in to say, so what if we only got the finals? England fans havememories that will last forever.
Meanwhile, parties on the dark side of the moon, so much poverty yet so many cars, and read one commenter’s bus journey from hell.
Share your thoughts on these topics and more in the comments.
I write in praise of Kate Mason’s article (MetroSport, Fri) highlighting that ‘love’ can be what football is all about.
Being part of the ups and downs of the Euro 2024 tournament in Germany seemed to bring a connection to Gareth Southgate and his England squad, whether you were at the finals or watching from bars or at home.
I have followed Leeds United for most of my life and the feeling that I belong to a club outside family and friends is very special to me.
Success has been limited for Leeds in the 50 years I have supported them, yet without following my team, life would be far less of interest.
So, for England to have reached the Euros final again has been a happy and memorable time for so many who support the national team. Craig Minto, Stocksbridge
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It saddened me to hear Gareth Southgate tendered his resignation as England football manager (Metro, Wed).
He leaves his job with great honour and distinction. Instead of hearing the words, ‘Football’s coming home,’ I want to hear the words, ‘Arise, Sir Gareth’ as he is knighted for services to sport. No one deserves the honour more than him. Scott, West London
The discovery of caves on the Moon (Metro, Tue) is exciting news for everyone on the ‘dark side’.
As terrestrial music venues continue to close in depressing numbers because of development pressures, council restrictions and neighbours’ complaints, the Moon cave surely offers a solution – a natural clubbing space with ample room for a vast dancefloor.
Apart from transport, the only problem I foresee is that caves often contain bats.
And where there are bats, we may expect to find a vampire or two. Moon cave clubbers will probably need to take sensible precautions, such as garlic and phials of holy water. Club rules would insist on guests leaving sharpened stakes and silver bullets at the door – these days we should all aim to be vampire-positive.
My vision is of the Moon cave being a safe space where creatures of the night can congregate, and dance to goth and darkwave music in a union of the living and the undead. Stephen Spark, Balham
What a wealthy country we live in! As a non-driver, I understand that it costs at least £30 a week to keep a car, even before you take it on the road. Yet these days, we are witnessing record volumes of traffic in our streets, with many vehicles occupied by just one person.
Traffic jams are abundant and growing worse. Even if you succeed in getting to your destination, you will encounter further problems with parking, sometimes including parking rage.
Surely if Britons are all so poor, we should see dozens of people walking or cycling everywhere?
Instead, we shall have cities, towns and motorways gradually seizing up with vehicles, most of them with but a single occupant.
Thus the next national crisis must be a vehicular war, with whole conurbations shutting down because of miles and miles of traffic. Antony Porter, London
Bicycles of the 1860s had wrought-iron frames and wooden wheels surrounded by iron ‘tyres’ and no springs, which made for a very uncomfortable ride. They quickly earned the nickname ‘boneshakers’.
That term could well be applied to most of our buses these days – not because of the buses themselves but the appalling state of our roads.
I lived in Australia for many years and the unmetalled roads in the Outback made for a smoother ride.
With very few exceptions, bus journeys are bone-jarring and very noisy, the latter largely due to rattling of windows and handrails.
Anyone with back problems should prepare themselves for a very painful and unpleasant experience.
On Monday, I had the misfortune to take a No.219 bus from Tunbridge Wells to East Grinstead – it was without a doubt the most uncomfortable ride of my life (I’m an octogenarian). It was 48 minutes each way of pure hell.
I’m surprised bus operators have not taken out class-action suits against local authorities for damage to their vehicles as a result of their allowing our roads to deteriorate to such an extent that they are now a national disgrace. Bob Readman, Sevenoaks
Spaces for prams on buses are needed but the entitlement of parents to use them doesn’t mean they’re entitled to ignore good manners.
When other passengers get up to give room to a pram, they are inconvenienced, yet I can count on my fingers the number of times over 20 years I have heard the pram owner say, ‘Sorry to disturb you’ or ‘Thank you’. A Shaw, Leeds
The government wants to reduce pressure on prisons by limiting custodial sentences to violent and sex offences.
I am concerned that violence to animals won’t warrant jail sentences because, in the eyes of some, it’s on the same level as damaging property. Alan, Greater Manchester
Your fashion article (Metro, Wed) asked whether we would pay £1,400 for a designer handbag that looks like a crisp packet. No! Sara, Cheltenham
As Chris Haws (MetroTalk, Wed) says, 700,000 houses lay empty in England, many of them probably second homes. These are most likely to have been bought by the wealthy to support their pension funds.
Surely if there was legislation to stop such practices, there would be sufficient housing without building on our green and pleasant land?
Also, the wealthy could invest in alternative forms to support their pension, such as shares, bonds etc.
Where I live, there are plans to build 2,500 houses. The first phase is nearly complete, with prices from £550,000 to £900,000.
Some have already been placed on the market by the buyers to be let. It should be buy to live in, not buy to let.
The land was farmed every year since I have lived here. Now the land and farm is gone, and so has all the wildlife – deer, foxes, hares, field mice and birds.
I am old enough to remember the war, when farmers had to grow crops to support the population. Now our country relies on imports.
We as a nation will need farming to grow because of climate change. All of Europe has seen floods and extreme hot weather, so crops will suffer.
The UK has the perfect climate to grow crops, so stop building houses to fund pension pots. Ronald Utting, Cirencester
