AS a retired manufacturing engineer, I look at the current desperate need, during this pandemic, for ventilators in hospitals to save lives, and our lack of supplies.

In the 1980s, shortly after oil was discovered in the North Sea, the Prime Minister deregulated the City of London and stated that Britain had become a post-industrial society. Our engineering manufacturing industry then shrank dramatically. It was particularly noticeable later, at the Machine Tool Fairs in Europe how few British companies exhibited, particularly in the field of robotics and other advanced technology.

Meanwhile, the Chinese were there in force buying, particularly German equipment, to fuel their rapidly developing production capacity.

For a country which started the Industrial Revolution and which, during the Second World War produced tens of thousands of Rolls-Royce Merlin engines, many in Glasgow, which powered all the finest aircraft we produced (Spitfire, Hurricane, Mosquito, Lancaster and later the USAF Mustang fighter), it is a sad reflection of how much we have fallen. It can be argued manufacturing helped us survive that potential invasion.

It is interesting that the countries that are coping best with coronavirus are all top manufacturing countries: China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, whilst meanwhile the City of London's wealthy financial centre has distorted the whole economic balance of the UK.

John Ewing, Ayr.

Screen test

DURING this crisis we have switched to reading The Herald online, with the added bonus of the digital version. Ah, but there is a problem.

At first, the change meant that we were making a dreadful mess of the screens of our computers by filling in the puzzles with felt-tip pens, and were quite unable to do so at all on our smartphones. Consequently, we now send copies of the puzzles to our printer in order to complete them in the old-fashioned way.

That decision could of course create a problem of its own if it catches on widely. It may lead to hoarding of printer paper. I suggest, therefore, that shops should start the quire practice of one at a time as soon as possible.

Gilbert MacKay, Newton Mearns.

The absent BBs

I CONCUR with Matt Vallance when in his obituary to golfer Gordon Murray (March 31) he refers to Gordon as rebellious, a definite one-off and a real character.

He and his late brother Kenneth were members of the 22nd Paisley Boys Brigade Company, Sherwood Church, and I remember, as a young officer being sent to their home to inquire why both had not been on parade at their Friday night meeting. Mum and dad were surprised and upset because they had witnessed both boys leaving for the company replete in uniform.

Whilst I am happy to agree that Gordon and Kenneth were not the most enthusiastic members of the BB each turned out to be wonderful ambassadors for Scotland.

W Raymond Shaw, Glasgow G41.

Darting away

MINDFUL that when things are bad it’s always good to have something nice to look forward to, today(April 1) I pinned up a map of the world, handed my dear wife a dart, and promised her a nice holiday wherever it landed, once our present tribulations are over.

Unfortunately it turns out we’ll be spending two weeks behind the fridge.

It happened? A bad dream? Or Huntigowk?

R Russell Smith, Kilbirnie.

Appetising names

READING Deedee Cuddihy’s letter (April 1) reminded me of a recent conversation I had with a former colleague, called Dominic. He told me proudly that one of his daughters was expecting his first grandchild and that he wanted to be known as “Poppa”, so that he could be “Poppa Dom”. I immediately suggested to him that his wife would therefore have to be known as “Naan”.

A B Crawford, East Kilbride.