Early motherhood can benefit everyone

I was really encouraged to read the article by Bushra Shaikh regarding early motherhood (‘For women, it makes sense to have children first and a career later’, 12 June). I was lucky enough to be born to a mother who was just 20 years old; my father was 24. I am now 62 and both my parents are still with me and my sisters.

When my own children were born, the first at 26, I enjoyed support from parents who were still themselves young and fit, with plenty of energy. My own first grandchild was born when I was 50. Some of my friends are still hopefully waiting, with the prospect of being well into their seventies before a baby arrives.

Early motherhood benefits everyone within a family, offering the best chances of mutual help and support across the generations.

Elizabeth Tugwell

Staines Upon Thames

It is beyond satire that the prime minister now says that “EU leaders need to get it into their heads that Northern Ireland is an integral part of the UK”.

It was Boris Johnson’s choice to remove that integrity by choosing an extreme form of Brexit which divorced Great Britain from the single market, the customs union and agricultural products regulation, notwithstanding that, during the referendum campaign, he said that the UK would stay in the single market. When he then chose to leave just Northern Ireland in all three, he created the precise division that he promised Northern Ireland he wouldn’t, with a de facto border in the Irish Sea.

He now berates EU leaders for not allowing him to have his cake and eat it, and presents himself as an advocate for integrity, which he himself so spectacularly lacks.

Philip Goldenberg

Woking

It was interesting to hear the prime minister quote Psalm 14:1 (“The fool hath said in his heart there is no God”) in his recent interview with Robert Peston. It seemed to be a response to the fact that Sir Keir Starmer does not believe in God.

It has of course been pointed out that the original words, as with so much of the Old Testament, are about practicality rather than pure theology. By the words, “There is no God,” the Psalmist meant to deny any assertion that God is not interested in people.

We may wish to develop this in the current context by saying that it means all people, not just English or British.  Populist nationalism – sometimes seen as Boris Johnson’s credo – would not sit well with this text.

The Rev Andrew McLuskey

Ashford, Middlesex

While the medical staff have rightly been praised for their swift action, let’s not forget English referee Anthony Taylor’s quick intervention by summoning them on to the pitch when he realised something was seriously amiss. Match officials are routinely pilloried, criticised and abused for their performance on the field but it was most certainly not warranted on this occasion.

Ian Hibbard

Bradford on Avon

Shaparak Khorsandi (Voices, 12 June) writes about why she changed her name to Shappi in the past and believes this is done to make either pronunciation or the writing of the name easier for others. Some of us born here never changed our names, but they got anglicised in their pronunciation. I was born with a Punjabi name Kartar which is pronounced “Ca-tha-ra”, meaning creator, but when I got to school teachers called me Carter. This has stuck ever since and most of my family call me Carter, but on the rare occasions Kartar is pronounced correctly I get the feeling someone is about to tell me off!

Kartar Uppal

Sutton Coldfield

In our house we have a water filter through our fridge. My wife likes fizzy water and we were using the soda stream. However, during the pandemic it was a problem getting the gas after my local Argos closed. When looking into costs, it is working out so much cheaper to get bottled water. Argos have added an extra amount to the cost of a gas refill and I have to travel over 10 miles to get one. I would like to be environmentally friendly with the water bottles but not at any expense and Argos profiteering.

Martin Walsh

Address supplied