The vaccination centre at the Science Museum in Kensington, London
Credit: Rob Pinney/Getty
SIR – About 500,000 vaccinations a day are being administered, thanks to the NHS and volunteers. Surely we should be aiming for double the figure, so individuals are protected sooner.
Or is there a shortage of vaccines that the Government is not wishing to disclose?
Raymond Williams
SIR – The head of the NHS is reported as saying that vaccination cannot go faster than supplies allow. The Department of Health and Social Care said: “There are no shortages of Pfizer/BioNtech vaccine, and deliveries are on time and as ordered.”
St Martin s church in Birmingham
Credit: Nathan Stirk/Getty
SIR – On Saturday I visited my favourite pub for the first time since mid-December. The staff had carefully organised everything and the beer tasted like nectar.
The pub, which is not big, was busy and there was a lot of talking and laughter. As I sat there sipping my pint, I couldn’t help wondering why Oliver Dowden, the Culture Secretary, and the Public Health England enforcers believe it’s safe for me to be in such an environment but that it would have been too risky for me to mingle the evening before with fewer than 30 people at a socially distanced choir practice with strict Covid protocols.
Sport is enriched by soul-stirring anthems
A French supporter before a rugby match against New Zealand at Eden Park in 2018
Credit: alamy
SIR – Nicholas Young (Letters, February 10) dislikes the singing of national songs at sporting fixtures. What a killjoy he is.
Surely the one place where unashamed nationalism is acceptable is the sports arena. Attending rugby union internationals as an England supporter, my soul is always stirred not only by the national anthem but also by the proud defiance of Flower of Scotland and Land of My Fathers or the unifying Ireland’s Call.
Then there is the blood and thunder of La Marseillaise at the Stade de France. And, as a lover of military music, I hope one day to attend a live performance of Il Canto degli Italiani in Rome.
John Tilsiter
SIR – In a free society, we have the option to buy the cheapest, which is often made in China. Many of the less well-off may not have a choice.
William Blake
SIR – Although I am now 74, I was given a Meccano set for Christmas. It is proving to be a most absorbing time-filler, but I was disappointed to find that it was made in China.
Luckily, I still have the spanner from my Fifties childhood set and have convinced myself that this original, proudly stamped Made in England, tightens the nuts with greater authority.
James L Shearer
Black day for pubs