WHAT slipshod ways this country is slipping into! Now the post boxes inform you of the first and last posts, but as for the rest, between morning and evening, you have to guess collections as necessary. Of course, if you take a ride to the depot, many more services are available to you. Big deal!

'Economically viable', that is the phrase. Well, we have all seen what it can do to the railways. Smart-Alec accountants and politicians have dismantled the well-developed structure of the railways and reduced the level of inspection to a minimum with newcomers at the helm. Anyone would think they were still playing with their beloved train sets in their attics.

And since I am having a good moan, what about the parking spaces in Old Town? Simple mathematics must show that the proposed number of flat-owning car owners and shoppers will require a new multi-storey car park on the remaining spaces. Someone must be rubbing their hands.

The passage of time, alas, has changed Old Town from a pleasant semi-rural environment to a mini-Soho.

L G LANE

Sandown Avenue

Swindon