Sorry to miss Lord Mayor

On Saturday evening (May 26) my wife and I attended a dinner at which the Lord Mayor was scheduled to speak. However he did not arrive, which is a pity as we and other guests would have been delighted to meet and hear him speak.

G Oxley

Sheffield, S62

The dangers of cannabis

May I add a postscript to my recent letters on the dangers of cannabis.

It is interesting to note that the influential medical journal The Lancet has just taken the unprecedented step of branding cannabis a ‘huge health risk’ and warns that tens of thousands of people (there were 27,000 in England in 2016/17), are ending up in hospital with cannabis-related health problems.

The Lancet has warned that cannabis could be behind the huge rise in mental health problems and that with the ‘increasing liberalisation of laws’ users need to be made aware of risks to their health and well-being.

Susan Richardson

Westminster Crescent, Lodge Moor, Sheffield, S10

Letters from same people

I quite understand the respective positions of Mr Ken Tomlinson and Ms Susan Richardson: but I would suggest that they direct their feelings of irritation to the right quarter. That has to be constituted by the editors and journalists of the Star and its sister paper, the Sheffield Telegraph, who are content to publish endless letters from the same stalwarts: Messrs Clayton, Olsen, Warris, Ms Jayne Grayson and Ms Richardson herself. These readers are happy to provide material free of charge, when the staff should be doing what they’re paid for.

Ruth Grimsley

Oak Park, Broomhill, Sheffield, S10

Why it takes all types

Susan Richardson, a fellow contributor to the Star Readers Letters pages, has recently been taken to task by one of your readers for writing “long letters on the same theme” which were boring to him. Susan and myself have something in common in that we write passionately about things we believe in.

In recent months her subject has been Sheffield tree removal, in my case it has been our EU Brexit removal. Although we have concentrated on these topics, it is only part of our “editorial repertoire” as evidenced by frequent publication of our letters on various other topics of general interest.

Unlike your complaining correspondent, I find Susan’s letters to be interesting and thought provoking and I endeavour to write in the same vein. It takes all “types” to make this world - including the type-print in the Star.

Surely the objective of the feature should be to publish a balanced variety of letters from readers on all suitable topics, be they lengthy or short. If the editor feels that their content is worthy of extra space then so be it.

Compare letters of this latter nature to those regularly printed, that are submitted by Jayne Grayson and EB Warris. They lack the thought provoking debatable content of Susan’s letters. I suggest their perceived trivia content to be more suitable for Facebook or Twitter publication. Letters from readers wishing to thank someone for their hospital stay or Good Samaritan help, together with those announcing a forthcoming event are also published.

While these letters are quite rightly published, it would make the Star feature very one sided, and remove the cut and thrust of written debate, if the unbalanced pages were filled with letters of this personally perceived Facebook and Twitter content, to the detriment of writers such as Susan and her ilk.

Cyril Olsen

Busk Meadow, Sheffield, S5

Abortion has to be an option

Abortion to be made legal in Southern Ireland thanks to people voting yes.

In the world today I find it bizarre that women are having to travel abroad for this procedure, something we women in England can have access to.

It’s never an easy decision to make and, even 30 years later, the thoughts of ‘was it the right decision?’ still weigh heavy and I speak from experience.

Abortion should never be used as contraception, but it should be a option for the many reasons that women have as to why they want to end a pregnancy.

Jayne Grayson

Sheffield, S35