Letter: Trading Sundays for more enjoyable Saturdays

Sir: If Geoffrey Smith has his way ('Sundays are up for sale', 6 December), the main effect for our family will be that both Saturdays and Sundays will remain special. Saturdays will remain as especially unpleasant as they presently are.

Since my wife and I both work full-time, we will still be forced to do all our major shopping errands on Saturdays. We will still face the traffic and parking problems, and the long queues in the shops, associated with the fact that most other families are also compelled to shop on Saturdays. We will not be able to take advantage of the various other events in the community scheduled on Saturdays, and we will still be too exhausted on Saturday nights from running around in the car all day to go out for dinner or take in a show or a film.

On Sundays, of course, when there is much less to do in terms of going out, we will be free to go out and do it.

On the other hand, if things do not go Mr Smith's way, he will be reassured by my first-hand experience of life in the United States, where Sunday shopping has caused neither the end of civilisation, nor the fall of capitalism. People still manage to hang on to their religion, and many even brave the hordes of consumers to get to church; somehow they don't need to be told to keep Sundays special.

The time is long since gone when most women stayed at home all week, and so had six days a week in which to shop. We don't need Mr Smith to plan our weekends for us.

Yours sincerely,

PHILIP AARONSON

West Ewell,

Surrey