The Last Word

As a public service, and to further enhance the pleasure of BBC News Online users who should probably be getting on with their work, we welcome your comments and observations about the news. Submission guidelines at the bottom of the page.

PARK THAT HEADLINE
Re: Self parking car hits the shops (1 September). Not very good at parking then!
Simon Butler, Fleet, Hampshire

THERE GOES THE SUN
Rain, rain, go away! I am already fed up with hearing weather reporters being pleased to report rain in the UK. It is wet, cold, dark and miserable today and I would much rather have the sun back.
Oonagh Harrison, Southampton, UK

Elvis, as he might look today

THERE'S A GUY WORKS DOWN THE BEEB...
Researchers at St Andrews University have generated a picture to show what Elvis might look like were he alive today. (Photo shows elderly Elvis, 29 August.) Looks like he found himself a job on Radio 2!
Neil Golightly, Manchester, UK

With reference to the story "Photo shows elderly Elvis". It may be just me, but that picture makes me think we should be looking for Bill Clinton.
Jack Hatfield, Brighton, UK

CLOSE ENCOUNTER
I wonder what our little green friends thought when the Earth passed nearer to them than any time in the past 60,000 years? ( Mars makes close approach to Earth, 27 August). Maybe they said: "It's great to see Patrick Moore is still on the go since last time round."
Calan MacAulay, Glasgow, UK

E-MAIL EXCUSES
Re: Clearing your e-mail backlog (27 August). "And don't feel pressured into responding to every item. If you've binned an e-mail and someone needs a reply, they can always come back to you - and you can just say 'oh, I never got it'," Mr Fletcher says. This is from a training company that instructs "busy executives" in how to deal with e-mail? Has he never heard of receipts or e-mail tracking? "Oh, I never got it" doesn't cut it and would just make the "busy executive" look like a liar!
Nick Jones, Wigan

It took me just twelve seconds to clear my backlog. CTRL A to highlight all, then Delete to send them back to the cyber world of make believe. I've always worked on a "scream file" principle. If "they" want it badly enough they'll scream for it.
Rob Harding, Reading,UK

PIN NUMBERS
Re: Bush doll has waiting list (27 August) Before you ascribe the prodigious numbers of Bush dolls being sold to his patriotic support base, would it not be sensible to check if there has been any corresponding rise in pin sales recently?
Edward Green, London

SHOPPING FOR IDEAS
Re: Support your local corner shop? (27 August). Why not just franchise out the new "Sainsburys Locals" to the same people who currently run the corner shops? End of problem. H, who clearly has too much time on her hands today.
Henrietta Turnbull, Sidcup, Kent

HIGH SPEED NET AT LOW COST
In the following news item BT offers faster broadband (27 August) we learn that BT are about to boost the speed of ADSL to a "whopping" 1Mbit per second. I moved to New Zealand a couple of years ago and have been enjoying an uncapped ADSL connection of 6.8Mbit per second ever since. The price is no higher than BT charge in the UK for a 512kps connection and it is available to almost the entire country, save for a handful of rural exchanges. Why does Britain tolerate being ripped-off and robbed of almost everything that makes life easier or more pleasurable?
Steve Lawrence, Christchurch, New Zealand

LOST VOTES?
Re: Postal workers vote on strike action (28 August) - a postal strike vote by postal ballot? What happens if the votes are lost in the post?
Helen Lucas, Hong Kong

WHAT GOES AROUND...
Re: Power cut causes chaos (28 August) I remember reading somewhere that in 1992 a large portion of the internet went offline. This was down to a huge solar flare from the sun which was at the end of its 11-year cycle (The core spins faster than the outer layers of the sun causing a tangle of electromagnetic currents and eventually they snap back and, for a moment, the electromagnetic field is weakened so that some "star stuff" may escape). Now forgive me if I'm wrong, but haven't 11 years passed since that incident?
Phillip Parr, Gillingham

IT USED TO BE FREE
Re: Waste of time The Last Word (26 August). I agree that "deregulation = more choice = better value for the consumer" is a waste of time and a big con. I can remember when we had one number for Directory Inquiries that everyone knew and more importantly the service was free.
Keith Bradshaw, Hope Valley

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Last Word submission notes

We welcome your comments and observations on the news.

The Last Word is updated on Monday each week.

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