Why didn’t he give his ticket to someone who wanted to support England rather that just tax it?MIKE BALLARDBILLERICAY

Why didn’t he give his ticket to someone who wanted to support England rather that just tax it?MIKE BALLARDBILLERICAY, ESSEX Reid writes Sir: I’ve been insulted by experts and laughed them off, but Simon Carr has gone too far in Tuesday’s Independent (the Sketch, 20 June). From a global perspective it is a far better solution than encouraging people here to have more babies than they wish to.JULIAN DAYCAMBRIDGE The national game Sir: The sight of Scotsman Gordon Brown in Cologne for the England game must have turned stomachs both sides of the border. Yet globally the human population is rising at an environmentally unsustainable rate.It is strange that we hear both about the “problem” of falling European birth rates and the “problem” of immigration. Immigration from the developing world is actually a solution to the problems potentially caused by low birth rates in the developed world. To suggest that a helmet is an optional extra is extremely dangerous.GILL HARRISONPRADES, FRANCESir: Thanks for the most enjoyable Extra guide to cycling.

But perhaps Robert Hanks might live longer if he did not choose a black rucksack, greyish-blue T-shirt, dark jeans and black shoes Get a bright-coloured helmet Wear yellow, red, pink. The first rule of bicycle safety is to be visible; the second is to be even more visible.S U SJOLINBURY ST EDMUNDS, SUFFOLK The global solution: let the people move Sir: In his article on the low birth rates in developed countries (21 June), Hamish McRae assumes without comment that raising these birth rates is both good and necessary. Since law-abiding, considerate cyclist Robert Hanks says it’s OK (Cycling Extra 12 June), could he be a bit more specific about the rules?Is it all right to cycle on the pavement in order to avoid red lights? Is it all right to ring your bell to warn slow-moving pedestrians to move out of the way? Should one overtake pedestrians on the inside or the outside? What about other bicycles on the pavement? Are hand-signals required?Does “with children in tow” mean pulling one of those little trolleys or followed by a little crocodile of wobbling junior bikes? Is it all right to cycle across pedestrian crossings? In pedestrian-only streets? Is it correct to leave your bicycle lying in the doorway when shopping, as seems to be the norm?And what are the equivalent rules for pedestrians; should they step into the road to avoid cyclists?CHARLES HUNTYORKSir: Robert Hanks writes: “People who don’t ride think helmets are essential.” My daughter is a professional triathlete and neither she nor any of her fellow triathletes would dream of riding their bikes without wearing a helmet – during races but also when training or riding for pleasure.Helmets can prevent serious injury or death if a cyclist falls off their bike and hits their head. I suspect Florence Nightingale would not be impressed with the trends seen today.DR ANDREW CONWAY MORRISEDINBURGH A highway code for pavement cyclists Sir: I never cycle on the pavement, but I would like to start. However, some of our best nurses are being tempted into “pseudo-doctor” specialist roles.Nurse specialists are a varied bunch and those such as the Macmillan palliative care nurses perform a unique and valuable role. However, when “nurse practitioners” are used to replace doctors the lack of in-depth training leads to errors and excessive referral rates.Good nursing is, foremost, about caring for patients and ensuring their comfort, safety and dignity. I have the pleasure of working with a team of highly skilled and motivated nurses in intensive care who take pride in their skills and abilities.

Her diagnosis of years of under-valuing ward nursing is spot on. Successive governments and the nursing profession’s own leadership have failed to emphasise the vital role of good ward nursing. There were nearly 20 patients in my ward, of various ages and with a wide range of ailments and of several ethnic backgrounds All received the highest possible attention to their needs. A number were difficult and abusive, but this did not provoke retaliation; the reaction was firm but calm perseverance to ensure that the patients’ needs were met. Indeed, as I found out later (my wife told me) I created some disturbance myself during a period of post-operative hallucination.In addition to the care for patients, visitors were afforded equal consideration.So, where is “Dr Chapman” coming from? Has she got some enormous chip on her shoulder? Has she fallen foul of one particularly bad team? I suspect she was not the most popular doctor in her hospital, even before this article.STUART LE GRICEBLEASBY, NOTTINGHAMSHIRESir: Dr Chapman’s article on the state of modern nursing is a timely intervention and gives voice to what many doctors (and nurses) have been saying in private.It should be emphasised that the sort of incident she describes is the exception rather than the rule in most NHS hospitals, although sadly it is not rare enough. The nurses went out of their way to ensure that I was comfortable and well informed about tests and procedures and was helped back to health and strength.Far from the surly reprobates “Dr Chapman” describes, the nurses were charming, cheerful and professional.

I had spent five years doing such interviews for real at a university.My assessment was that a good number of the pupils I saw should not be encouraged to apply to university as they would struggle and probably not complete even the first year. No wonder she wants her identity kept secret.I have recently left hospital after a serious operation and, to redress the balance, I offer unequivocal praise for all staff, surgeons, nurses, radiographers, porters, catering staff, cleaners – the lot Their care and consideration were exemplary. Whether or not it is right for them is not my business.”JO FRITHSIDMOUTH, DEVON In defence of dedicated nurses Sir: I was astounded by the venom with which “Dr Lucy Chapman” attacked nurses in her article “They’re no angels” (20 June). I told the headmaster my opinion and his reply took my breath away “Their parents pay me to get them to university. LEAs have made massive contributions towards improving the quality of education for the vast majority of ordinary children, contributions which were only curtailed when successive governments deliberately starved them of money in order to “prove” that services needed to be privatised.If the hands of local authorities are, indeed, dead it is because Thatcher and Blair have had them in a tourniquet for as long as most of us can remember.NORMAN JONESMANCHESTERSir: Some years ago I was asked to help a famous public school with practice interviews for their sixth formers who were applying for university places. When music services are cut across the country, physical education is a dismal half hour on whatever grotty playing fields the developers don’t want (yet), bright children are seen as free teaching assistants and proper residential provision like the excellent Do It 4 Real scheme is cut after a mere two years, don’t blame those of us who step into the gap.IAN JOHNSTONDIRECTOR, THE ATE TRUST MALVERN, WORCESTERSHIRESir: Richard Tice (Letters, 21 June) repeats the government and media parrot cry that schools need to be freed from the “dead hand” of LEAs.

We believe that children benefit from our work – does that make our very existence unfair and a threat to social justice?Private schools, piano lessons, ballet classes and summer camps would be distant memories if the state system was run and funded to meet the full range of needs, activities and inclinations of all children. Would the proponents of such a ban extend it – logically – to private piano, ballet and gymnastics tutors? How about the Saturday German classes at the Goethe in Glasgow which I attended aged eight and for which my parents paid a modest fee?I direct a small educational trust running summer camps – for which parents pay. The result would not be good schools dotted fairly all over the country, but some areas with more expensive house prices and good state schools and other areas with cheaper house prices and poorer state schools.Rather than becoming obsessed with the status and structure of different schools, we should be considering how to extend access to the best schools of all types. Sir Peter Lampl is doing exactly that with his Sutton Trust and it is a rich irony that their poll on the educational background of journalists should have been so misused by those fighting an old class war.NICHOLAS HILLMANLONDON W3Sir: Banning private education would certainly be one way of avoiding rich parents buying an unfair advantage for their children. The change would simply reinforce the existing tendency of some wealthier families to move to areas with good state schools. The richest and most popular schools would continue to prosper while others, including some focusing on special educational needs or based on innovative educational theories or catering for minority ethnic groups, would wither.Thirdly, if you change the status of independent schools, it does not follow that educational prospects will improve across the country.