Letters, contributions and comments sent in from Recorder readers this week.

Bring back canvas bag collection

Ron Jeffries, Aldborough Road North, Alborough Hatch, writes:

I have spent a happy morning in the autumn sunshine in my front garden – one of the half dozen or so gardens that are cultivated along here now that Redbridge has become a giant car park.

I planted spring bulbs – which will be enjoyed by children and adults passing-by, who are more used to gazing at concrete than daffodils and crocus.

Next I pruned my green shrubs – that do their bit to improve the air quality around here, but are fighting a losing battle with vehicle exhausts and dust from the sand and gravel extraction starting on my doorstep any day now.

I have six plastic bags waiting for the green collection. All are split (as the photograph shows) and will break up even more when they are lifted onto the council’s vehicle, leaving green debris on the road for me to clear up.

Please, Redbridge Council, bring back the big green canvas bag collection scheme that worked so well for years.

Many of us still have the bags, they can be seen any day at the council’s recycling centres. Like many others, I would be very happy to pay £50 a year for the service over seven months, for it is not our councillors’ fault that they are cash-strapped with little money in the kitty for schemes like this that help the environment.

I challenge my good friend, Cllr John Howard, cabinet member for the environment and sustainability, to sort this out for 2018.

Go for it John and don’t take “No” for an answer at the Town Hall!

TfL bus brochure omits local routes

Laurence Payne, Farnham Road, Ilford, writes:

A nicely printed brochure from TfL listing “all the local routes that run through your local area” has just come through my letterbox.

Out of the routes I regularly use for local journeys it omits the 86, 364, 66, 296, 396, EL1, EL2, EL3, 145 and probably more.

Some arbitrary definition of “local” perhaps?

What a waste of money.

Stop leaving food on cycle tracks

Mr A Still, York Road, Ilford, writes:

At last! We may get something done about whoever scatters all sorts of food about the cycle tracks at the top of York Road.

About 11-midnight, rats run around there, as the pigeons are so fat, they’ve left the so-called food.

There are CCTV cameras – use them to stop whoever throws food around and while we are at it, stop those crazy cyclists. I’ve nearly been hit three times in York Road and twice in Station Road on the pavement.

These guys were going at speed.

Let us help you run the Marathon

Matthew Reed, chief executive, The Children’s Society, writes:

This month many people will be finding out if they have been successful in securing a place in the Virgin Money London Marathon 2018.

But what if you have a place yet feel like you’d benefit from some support, advice and encouragement with your training?

You can join The Children’s Society’s team and at the same time help transform young people’s lives! We help children and young people dealing with hardship, abuse and neglect and every penny raised by our runners will go towards transforming the lives of the UK’s most vulnerable children.

It’s easy to register to be part of The Children’s Society’s team and we provide lots of support every step of the way, including bespoke training advice and guides from our fitness experts, a team training day, easy fundraising ideas, cheering you along on the day and a sports massage and celebration afterwards.

For more information on being part of our London Marathon 2018 team go to childrenssociety.org.uk/londonmarathon

Mental health help for the RAF family

Air Vice-Marshal David Murray, controller, Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund, writes:

Recently the country rallied behind the brave ex-service men and women as they once again represented our country and battled for gold at the Invictus Games in Toronto.

It has been great to see our veterans getting the attention they deserve and shining a light on some of the issues they have faced since leaving the military.

If there is one issue that stood out to me at this year’s Games, it was mental health. I was so impressed by the number of athletes suffering from PTSD who stepped up and were willing to share their stories, which has not always been the case.

While Invictus has opened the door for many veterans with mental health issues, sadly there are still plenty suffering in silence.

Tuesday, October 10 marked World Mental Health Day – and another opportunity to encourage people to speak out about their mental health issues and get the support they need. This year’s theme is mental health in the workplace. According to the Mental Health Foundation, one in five people in the workplace experience a mental health condition. The Armed Forces are no different.

At the RAF Benevolent Fund, the RAF’s leading welfare charity, we have been helping the RAF family with mental health issues for many years. We have also long worked with and financially supported Combat Stress, the leading veterans’ mental health charity.

More recently we have been working with Anxiety UK to address issues head-on.

With campaigns like World Mental Health Day and the Invictus Games, I am confident that we will soon reach a point where people will no longer feel that they have to suffer in silence. If you know of someone who might benefit from our support visit rafbf.org/help for more information.