Sir, – As we’re edging closer to extra time, I presume there will be penalties afterwards. – Yours, etc,
DULACH
GLYNN,
Raheny,
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Dublin 5.
Sir, – Surely it is only a matter of time before the House of Commons votes to leave the UK? – Yours, etc,
JOHN
McDWYER,
Carrick on Shannon,
Co Leitrim.
Sir, – When I was a lad, in the 1940s and 1950s, a highlight of the week was going to “the pictures” on Saturday afternoon. We got the big picture, the little picture, cartoons, Laurel and Hardy, trailers and the “follyer-upper”.
This, of course, was the serial, with a cliffhanger every week. Would our hero stop the train from hurtling over the cliff, would the damsel be saved from a horrible end, would the “calvary” come over the hill to rescue the besieged fortress?
I am brought back to those halcyon days by the Brexit shenanigans.
Every day is a new challenger, there is always a new twist to the plot. I’m enjoying it enormously – heroes, villains, damsels in distress, fortunes at stake, besieged garrison, train crashes, they are all there. – Yours, etc,
JACK KELLY,
Dún Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – The EU has set up an open goal for anti no-deal British MPs by giving the UK a Brexit deadline of April 12th.
Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement is now dead in the water.
Mrs May’s only chance of passing her deal was if the UK’s exit date had stayed at March 29th. Then, the House of Commons might have been bullied into believing that it was genuinely her deal or no-deal.
Now, however, MPs have two extra weeks to reject her plan and take control of the process. If they move quickly, there will be ample time for them to determine their preferred option – and to choose a variation on a soft Brexit, or even a second referendum.
Hopefully, the British people have at least learned from the Brexit debacle that their complacent belief in Britain’s innate superiority in the world can no longer apply.
If so, their country’s recent humiliating travails might, after all, have been of some value to them. – Yours, etc,
JOE McCARTHY,
Arbour Hill,
Dublin 7.
Sir, – I note from an attempt to view the latest count of signatures to the official UK parliamentary petition, which seeks to “Revoke Article 50 and remain in the EU”, that the petitions website is down for maintenance due to the sheer number of respondents (a million since February 14th).
The explanatory message reads: “Petitions is down for maintenance. We know about it and we’re working on it. Please try again later.”
Might this particular message be seen as a metaphor? – Yours, etc,
GER
HENNESSY,
Athlone,
Co Westmeath.
Sir, – What is the difference between Brexit and a local elections canvasser? You can close the door on the latter. – Yours, etc,
JUDITH
GOLDBERGER,
Donnybrook,
Dublin 4.