SIR – I was born in 1950. Since the death of Queen Elizabeth II, I have seen the country more united than it has been at any other time in my life. Long may this continue.

SIR – In this age of wokery and aggressiveness, how lovely it has been to see the silent majority turn out in their many thousands. Perhaps there is hope for us after all.

Elizabeth Ross Isle of Arran, Buteshire

SIR – I presume that, after almost two weeks of peace and quiet from our politicians, it would be asking too much of them to act, from now on, with the same dignity and decorum that members of the Royal family have displayed.

SIR – The Earl Marshal and his team deserve the nation’s praise and thanks for the exemplary organisation of our late Queen’s funeral. They have shown that Britain is capable of doing things really well. It is therefore sad that the NHS, and parts of government, let us down so badly.

The lesson is that good management does not make excuses – it makes things happen.

SIR – Our dear Queen dies and, in the space of less than two weeks, world leaders have attended a stunning state funeral and more than a quarter of a million mourners have united in a queue to pay their respects.

Compare this with the two months it took the Conservative Party to choose a new leader (with much in-fighting along the way), while the economy disintegrated.

SIR – After the unbearably poignant events on Monday I must admit – slightly uncomfortably – that I welcome the return to something approaching normality.

SIR – I spent the whole of Monday watching Queen Elizabeth’s funeral and the events around it.

I then wondered what I could do to celebrate her life, and have decided to plant a tree in her memory. If the very many people who loved and admired her were to do the same, it would make for a fitting tribute – and how the country would benefit.

SIR – We have been extremely touched by the sight of teddy bears and soft toys among the flowers left in memory of the late Queen.

Hopefully these will be collected and distributed to children’s hospices rather than disposed of.

Richard and Pauline Clement Cavendish, Suffolk

SIR – While the public has been mourning Queen Elizabeth, I hope the Government has been working overtime to find ways of helping Ukraine maintain its counter-offensive against Russia.

The Ukrainians are fighting for democracy. It beggars belief that much-needed tanks have been refused export licences by Germany.

SIR – What is the Russian army fighting for in Ukraine? The answer is Vladimir Putin’s vanity.

What are the Ukrainians fighting for? They fight for their country, their compatriots, their families and their friends. Their recent successes demonstrate the power of these motivations.

Putin cannot tolerate being seen to be defeated. Beware the cornered rat.

SIR – I have had a poor broadband service for many years, and it is unlikely to improve in the foreseeable future because of where I live.

I am disappointed that BT is currently advertising a fast-fibre service – 50 Mbps – for £24.99 per month. I currently pay £29 per month for a very slow service – about 4.5 Mbps.

I have spoken to BT about this, but my complaints have fallen on deaf ears. It is surely time that it changed its billing policy so that those with poor service pay significantly less. We would, of course, be happy to pay the going rate for a good service.

Hugh Lewin Chewton Mendip, Somerset

SIR – Janet Milliken’s letter (“Denied the freedom of driving by DVLA sloth”, September 5) struck a chord.

Like her, I attended Specsavers, where I had my eyes tested by a young man who had completed his training four months earlier. His opinion was accepted by the DVLA and my licence renewed.

Interestingly, however, the opinion of my cataract surgeon (a professor with more than 35 years’ experience in eye surgery), who stated that I was fit to drive, was not considered acceptable. Is there an explanation?

SIR – I recently visited my mother in Yorkshire and arranged her Covid booster for her using the telephone booking service. I eventually spoke to an operator and an appointment was made at a local pharmacy for the day of the late Queen’s funeral.

On phoning the pharmacy to check it was open, I was told that nobody would be there as it was a bank holiday, so I rang the booking service back, only to find that the system was down.

Looking online, I found there was a drop-in booster service at the Great Yorkshire Showground, and we were in, jabbed and out within an hour.

Meanwhile I had two texts from the NHS – one confirming that vaccination centres would be open on the bank holiday (they weren’t) and a second confirming my mother’s now redundant pharmacy appointment.

SIR – A missed appointment due to the late arrival of a hospital letter (Letters, September 17) may not necessarily be the fault of the NHS.

However, I was astounded when the elderly Ukrainian lady billeted in my house was refused an MRI scan at Papworth Hospital in Cambridge due to the absence of a translator – as was explained to her fluent English-speaking daughter.

A day was wasted, an elderly lady’s urgent test was delayed and money was lost in the cancellation of a procedure. No doubt extra costs will now be incurred employing an official translator.

SIR – Thérèse Coffey, the Health Secretary, is endeavouring to eradicate NHS jargon (Letters, September 17).

I recently received a letter from my doctor’s surgery telling me that I have to make an “F2F appointment with my GP to discuss HF”. I am still looking for a translation.

SIR – As I approach my 80th birthday, a letter from the Department for Work and Pensions informs me that I am entitled to an increase to my state pension of 25 pence a week.

I can only assume that those making these decisions are either stupid or out of touch, as administering this system must cost 10 times more than the amount distributed.

Mick Ferrie Mawnan Smith, Cornwall

SIR – I bet the independent bookies at Doncaster Racecourse are happy to take cash (Letters, September 18), unlike those running the racecourse.

Any retail outlets that refuse to take cash lose my custom, and I inform the business owner or manager of this fact and the reason why.

SIR – Four years ago, my family met Swedish friends in Lubeck, northern Germany, for a holiday. For spending money we took euros, as well as our usual payment cards. Sweden had effectively become cashless a few months previously, and the Swedes had only cards with them.

Over the four days we spent together, our euros paid for the group several times in cafés and restaurants, most of which seemed not to trust card payments. Cash was in use everywhere we went, which was very irritating for the progressive Swedes.

Chris Andrews Doncaster, South Yorkshire

SIR – I used to get very bored with people extolling the virtues of their Aga cookers (Letters, September 19).

Then, when I remarried, my new husband said we should have one. I put an advertisement in a local magazine for an Aga that did not use solid fuel. The next morning I had a phone call from a man with such an Aga. It cost little, but I had to pay for its removal and re-installation.

It was a very old, former solid-fuel Aga that had been converted to oil. I am now very boring, as it is wonderful. Recently I upgraded it to electric – very successfully, despite its 50-plus years of age – and all four ovens still work beautifully.

SIR – My old and sometimes temperamental coal-fired Aga made the most amazing Yorkshire puddings, which I have never been able to replicate in any other oven.

SIR – I discovered the restorative powers of the Aga (Letters, September 17) when I was seven.

Two chicks hatched in our hen house and I noticed that their mother never washed them. So after school one day I took a bowl of water and scrubbing brush and gave them a thorough wash, leaving them on the roof of the hen house to dry.

It was February. My mother found the drenched and shivering birds and placed them in the slow oven of the Aga for an hour. They emerged, alive and dry, and thrived, later producing chicks of their own.

Gerard McCloskey Durford Wood, Hampshire

SIR – When Liz Truss announced that she was planning to help beleaguered businesses we were cautiously hopeful. Financial assistance appears to be coming for electricity bills, which we don’t actually need, since we fixed in September 2021 for three years and our usage is low.

People wonder where this money is coming from and I believe I now know: we have just received a letter telling us that, due to an unspecified error in the 2017 assessment, our business rates are more than doubling, with effect from last week. No notice, no consultation and no change to our premises.

This increase is half the cost of our annual electricity bill, every month. One can only assume that the Government doesn’t want small businesses to survive, and that the magical growth it intends to facilitate is coming from the thousands of large businesses the country supports.

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