I believe that for evil to flourish, it also needs people to be afraid of each other.

I felt very sad recently to learn that paramedics are not allowed to touch their patients, even if they are very old and dying. What are they afraid of? Not to be able to hold the hand of a dying patient and to provide any comfort is, I feel, appalling.

Who does not want to reach out to someone in great distress?

I am told that if I were still teaching infants, I wouldn't be allowed to pick them up and give them a cuddle if, say, they had fallen down and hurt themselves. This is also appalling.

I just feel frightened at what is happening to our society and what will happen to it if we are not allowed to love one another.

J H HENRY

Flower Street, Northwich.

Converted for the new archive on 13 March 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.