IoS letters, emails & online postings (10 June 2012)

I have no problem with teaching children to understand the horrors of firearms in the wrong hands, and to eschew violence ("Inner-city pupils take shooting lessons", 3 June). But showing pupils how to shoot in order to understand the countryside has nothing to do with the rural life that most cherish: rolling fields, the seasons, animals, walks – and, in season, the occasional pop-pop of game hunting for the pot.

Clay-pigeon shooting is environmental vandalism. Corporate-eventers and townies far outnumber local country dwellers, blasting away from dawn to dusk in a selfish denial of the right to the quiet enjoyment of the countryside. It is big business, but has precious little to do with country living – except for being in the country because it would not be tolerated in the town.

Adrian Winstanley

Tadworth, Surrey

How two-faced of Andrew Lansley to urge striking doctors to put patients first ("Lansley tells striking doctors to protect patients", 3 June). If the Health Secretary himself were to put patients first he would start by spending massively to defeat MRSAs [hospital-acquired infections], as our governors should have done 20 years ago. He would then put medically qualified professionals in charge of hospital and surgery management, put drugs companies back on the shelf where they belong and reassign so-called hospital managers to roles where their unqualified confidence is balanced by ineffectuality – backbench politics springs to mind.

Peter Isaacson

by email

I am not surprised that you are doubtful the Olympics' legacy will be more participation in sport (Leading article, 3 June). The task was far larger than many people realised given that so many playing fields, sports halls, swimming pools and courts had been closed down, sold off and redeveloped for other uses. Today, only people who can afford the fees at sports clubs can use facilities that rival those we had in the past.

Kartar Uppal

West Bromwich, West Midlands

It would not cost a penny extra for the Government to ensure that all trainee teachers for primary schools receive good-quality training to deliver physical education in primary schools. The former chief executive of the Youth Sport Trust told the Training and Development Agency, responsible for teacher training, that this would be the single most dramatic contribution to physical education for every child. The Government should insist upon this – a lasting legacy without ongoing budget costs.

Margaret Talbot

posted online

You quoted William Hill's odds on the Queen presenting the Derby trophy (Sport, 3 June) at Epsom. But the trophy was presented by the CEO of the sponsors, Investec. The Queen presented the Coronation Cup.

Mike Garbutt

Sheffield

Another New Review food issue (3 June), another series of articles and recipes adding to the already bloated and pretentious food industry. You often have a fashion issue, too. What about the literate reader uninterested in the pornification of food and fashion?

Terry Walsh

Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk

I hope the jubilee celebrations have convinced the anti-royal press that it represents only a small minority. It may be difficult to defend the hereditary principle of the monarchy on a logical basis; but the important things in life are emotional rather than logical. The monarchy works for Great Britain.

Malcolm Morrison

Swindon, Wiltshire

Our pets need no encouragement to sleep on our bed ("Move over darling...", 3 June). It would take an electric fence to keep them off. And it's not their comfort I'm considering when they snuggle up; it's mine.

Sara Neill

Tunbridge Wells, Kent

Have your say

Letters to the Editor, The Independent on Sunday, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5HF. Email: sundayletters@independent.co.uk. Online: independent.co.uk/dayinapage/2012/June/10