Letters, June 30 2023

The benefit of electric vehicle ownership

 

In response to last week’s article on electric vehicles (EV), while I would certainly welcome more fast charging points in Argyll, I feel the article painted too negative a picture of EV ownership in Kintyre.

 

We live in Carradale and have had an EV as our only car for more than three years. The car, a Kia Soul, is neither one of the more expensive EVs, nor one of the cheapest.

 

We can comfortably do a return journey to Glasgow on a single charge. The official range of the car is 284 miles, though in the summer we can do up to 320 miles.

 

As an EV owner, we are eligible for low-cost electricity in the middle of the night, currently just a quarter of the regular tariff, which allows us to fully charge the car for £6. At the moment, with much sunshine, we can re-charge the car entirely from solar panels.

 

Campbeltown Motor Company is fully equipped to service electric vehicles so we can get the annual service done locally without losing the warranty. Above all, we can hear the birds sing as we drive.

 

Eric Dudley, Carradale.

 

Raise a cuppa. Raise money. Raise hope.

 

Breast Cancer Now’s Afternoon Tea is back this August, and I can’t wait to dust off my whisks and stick the kettle on to raise vital funds for Breast Cancer Now. Will you join me?

 

Every 10 minutes, someone in the UK hears the words “you have breast cancer”. Sadly, that’s exactly what happened to my sister Sarah and I when we were diagnosed with breast cancer in 2018 and 2019 respectively.

 

Although her initial treatment was successful, in March 2022 tests revealed Sarah had secondary, incurable breast cancer and heartbreakingly she died just five months later.

 

Taking part in Afternoon Tea was my final gift to her. But shortly afterwards, I was given the devastating news that my own breast cancer had spread to my bones, making it the same incurable disease my sister had died from.

 

Just like Sarah, I’ve experienced the relentlessness of this disease. I also know how vital Breast Cancer Now’s research and support is, which is why I’ll be hosting another Afternoon Tea this year.

 

By joining me, you can raise money that helps provide award-winning health information, fund cutting-edge research projects and give someone like me much-needed reassurance from expert nurses on Breast Cancer Now’s free helpline, which can make all the difference.

 

Whether you bake or buy, every single Afternoon Tea hosted for Breast Cancer Now will help to give anyone affected by this devastating disease support for today and hope for the future.

 

So if you enjoy baking, or simply want to raise a cuppa, join me this August by signing up for your free fundraising kit now at: breastcancernow.org/cuppa

 

Theresa Kelly, who lives with secondary incurable breast cancer, on behalf of Breast Cancer Now.