I WON’T mention this correspondent’s name, because lately I feel he has had more of his share of flack. You are quite right sir, when you say Swindon town centre is short of quality shops. Morse’s Department Store and Mckilroy’s, just to name two, are the shops I miss most. However I believe the pound shops have their place, as many people in the town are struggling from day to day to make ends meet.

If it makes you feel any better, most of us would say a visit to the town centre, at times, makes them feel like an outsider; but not necessarily for the same reasons.

What struck a cord with me, when you said 90 per cent of immigrants settle in England, and only the other 10 per cent head for Scotland and Wales. I’ve never really given it much thought.

On a visit to the beautiful Welsh countryside some years ago, we were confronted with a sign beside a lake. It wasn’t written in the Welsh language, and with no English translation we didn’t know what the sign meant. I asked a local man what language it was written in, and could he explain the meaning. He said it was written in Polish, and translated, “Anyone caught taking fish out of this lake will be prosecuted.” I can’t see these people just crossing over from England, via the Seven Bridge, just for a few Welsh fish.

WILLIAM ABRAHAM Rodbourne Swindon