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'A united Europe gives us safety in number' - Your Letters and a remarkable Picture from the Past reveals airfield lightning strike

A defence of the EU, a welcome for the chicken pox vaccine and a rallying call to 'Wear it Pink' - here are a selection of your latest your letters.

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Here’s a remarkable picture from our archives. The date is not known, but the image was a winner of a Star photographic competition and was submitted by Paul Bunch. It shows an aircraft on the runway at Halfpenny Green Airport being struck by lightning in a storm,
Here’s a remarkable picture from our archives. The date is not known, but the image was a winner of a Star photographic competition and was submitted by Paul Bunch. It shows an aircraft on the runway at Halfpenny Green Airport being struck by lightning in a storm,

We need  safety in numbers

I believe that if Churchill had won the 1945 General Election we would have become a strong participant in the Schuman plan which was in effect the birth of the EU. As it was Churchill's confidence had taken a knock and he wasn't prepared to defy the landed gentry who opposed the plan.

One of the main reasons Churchill wanted a united Europe was because he regarded Russia as the new despots and felt a united Europe outside Russia could control their excesses. If we had been a founder member of the EU we would also have constructed its direction. Today we direct nothing. Russia, even Israel with its much smaller GDP, mock us. The USA dismiss us and the rest of the world regards us as a failing country.

Farage says we don't want to be beholden to any other country, so what is the membership of NATO and the UN all about? It's no good huffing and puffing and telling me not to talk the country down, unlike Farage I face facts, I am not going to kid myself but I am hoping my grandkids will have the sense to realise that China, India and even Trump's USA are looking after No.1 and regard us of little real importance. There is a great deal of safety in numbers.

Roger Watts, Midlands

Get ready to turn all pink!

Mark your calendars! On Friday, October 24, thousands of people across the UK will be pulling on their brightest pink outfits, silliest socks and hot pink hats for Breast Cancer Now’s Wear it Pink event, one of the nation’s biggest and boldest days.

Now in its 24th year, wear it pink has already raised a staggering £43 million for Breast Cancer Now’s life-saving research and life-changing support for people affected by breast cancer. But the mission isn’t over. Every 9 minutes someone in the UK is told “you have breast cancer”. By 2050, Breast Cancer Now wants everyone with breast cancer to live and live well. It couldn’t be easier to get involved: just wear pink at home, work, school or with friends, raise whatever you can, and help power world-class research and vital support services.Sign up now at wearitpink.org/SignUp

Lucy Boddy, 

Breast Cancer Now

Why has jab taken so long?

Children are to be offered the chicken pox vaccine, to avoid this nasty condition. However, why has it taken successive health ministers 34 years to implement a measure that has been available in the USA and most of the world for over three decades? The new vaccine should also prevent shingles in later life, since it only affects people who have had chicken pox as a child.

W F Kerswell, Picklescott