MADAM – I would like to say how well I empathise with the letter from Lee Prescott, How does anyone survive the risks? (23/7/14).
My experiences were very similar, except the policeman, but I would like to add a couple of my own. Growing up at the seaside, we would spend all the fine summer days on the beach or at least on the promenade.
We wore nothing but shorts or trunks. We had never heard of suntan lotion.
If I got burnt, my mother applied calamine lotion, which dried to a vivid pink and was a bit embarrassing. Now, nearly 70 years later I seem to have excellent skin.
And in the winter we would rollerskate, without knee pads, elbow pads or crash helmets. Like Lee, I do not remember anyone suffering anything worse than a grazed knee.
Clive Blackmore
Stroud