Net zero, POWs and a Dudley landmark from 1970: Readers have their say

PICTURE FROM THE PAST: Dudley’s Churchill shopping precinct was home to an impressive £10,000 glass mosaic depicting Sir Winston Churchill surrounded by scenes from the Second World War. But by August 1970, the much-admired feature was showing signs of wear, with a section of mosaic about two feet by one foot having fallen away. Pieces of glass had reportedly been coming loose since the screen was installed more than 18 months earlier, prompting officials to consider how it could be protected from further deterioration. Do you remember Dudley’s Churchill screen? | Express & Star archive

placeholder image — PICTURE FROM THE PAST: Dudley’s Churchill shopping precinct was home to an impressive £10,000 glass mosaic depicting Sir Winston Churchill surrounded by scenes from the Second World War. But by August 1970, the much-admired feature was showing signs of wear, with a section of mosaic about two feet by one foot having fallen away. Pieces of glass had reportedly been coming loose since the screen was installed more than 18 months earlier, prompting officials to consider how it could be protected from further deterioration. Do you remember Dudley’s Churchill screen? | Express & Star archive

Our readers share their views on net zero and the impact of energy costs, ask when German prisoners of war returned home, and suggest a new approach to healthcare provision in Newport

MP standing up over net zero

At least one enlightened MP (Claire Coutinho) has made a stand on the stupid policy of Net Zero. One MP out of the 650 has spotted this idiotic policy of the last two governments, which is causing untold damage to our economy, our struggling businesses and the people who have to pay the highest energy bills in the world, in order to keep the greedy foreign owned energy suppliers here.

How can we get this reversed before it does untold damage to our industrial base before its too late to recover from a failed policy?

Our contribution to global warming is less than one per cent, so why penalise our hard pressed consumers? We have already exported our heavy energy users to China and India. The damage to our industry and commerce has been devastating.

We already pay the most expensive energy bills on the planet when it has devastated our industry and Ms Couthino is the only MP, out of the 650 plus who has spotted this flaw in our energy supply.

Let's hope this policy is reversed and soon before all our industry leaves this island forever.

Name and address supplied

When did POWs return home?

Re. the Picture from the Past of the smartly turned out German POW congregation at St Mary's Catholic Church in Cannock in the winter of 1946. This was over 18 months after the end of the war in Europe. How long was it before all German POWs were able to return home? And when did all the British POWs in German territory return home? Can someone answer these questions?

William J Read, Stafford

Pressure is on town surgeries

The population of Newport has grown rapidly recently and is getting bigger. One of the major impacts is access to local doctors and being able to park in order to see one.

What if the two local surgeries (Wellington Road and Linden Hall) co-operated but remain separate to set up a completely new building on NI park? There are many similar arrangements where two or more surgeries share a building but have their own reception and other arrangements. I appreciate it would be expensive but selling off the existing locations would help.

The “Newport Medical centre” could, as well as GPs and their ancillary services, house a minor injury unit, consulting rooms for physio, podiatry, chiropody, visiting consultants (similar to Shawbirch), pharmacy. It could even be a home for the X-Ray system (what a waste of money that has been). Donnington equivalent even has an operating suite for minor operations. There could be a large car park and local bus routes to serve the site. NHS may be persuaded to help fund it not only for some of their services but on the basis that the minor injuries unit would reduce the loading on A&E at local hospitals.

T&C Mitchell, Newport

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