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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National

Mind the gap in help for disabled people

‘I was all too aware of the gap … What was less clear … was what I was expected to do about it.’ Photograph: Eyesite/Stockimo/Alamy

Tanni Grey-Thompson’s experience is beyond disgraceful (ParalympicsGB chief says Tanni Grey-Thompson’s train ordeal ‘a disgrace’, 28 August, but it is not only wheelchair users who are in dire need of a more disability-friendly world. Many people – especially older people – walk around on legs that are stiff, painful or unsteady. Getting off a train at my local station recently, I was greeted by a repeated recorded message: “Be aware of the gap.” I was all too aware of the gap, which was indeed considerable. What was less clear, there being nobody on the platform to help, was what I was expected to do about it.
Patricia de Wolfe
London

• Is Keir Starmer a secret country music fan? He appears to be taking inspiration from Lynn Anderson’s hit single – “I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden” – in his austerity message to the public (Starmer hints at tax rises as he warns of ‘painful’ budget, 27 August).
Vanessa Ball
Coventry

• As an IT professional, I can confirm that turning it off and on again is a cure for many IT issues (Letters, 28 August). However, if faced with a threat from artificial intelligence, the best solution might be to skip the second bit.
Mike Lowcock
Sandbach, Cheshire

• I look forward to learning what Nell Frizzell (Opinion, 28 August) will be inking on to her new pencil case. In my day, “I ❤️ Illya Kuryakin” was a favourite (even with the teachers).
Liz Taylor
West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire

• Stunning photo, but who won the battle between the jaguar and the cayman (Wildlife photographer of the year 2024 – preview, 29 August)?
Sam White
Lewes, East Sussex

• Do you have a photograph you’d like to share with Guardian readers? If so, please click here to upload it. A selection will be published in our Readers’ best photographs galleries and in the print edition on Saturdays.

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