Minehead Museum is alive and well, contrary to rumours of its closure. The museum stand at the VE Day celebrations in Blenheim Gardens was very popular but several visitors believed that the museum had closed at the same time as the Visitor Information Centre at the Beach Hotel.

This is very much not the case, as the museum is an independent charity, nothing to do with the VIC. The museum continues to attract visitors, donations and new exhibits. The impression of closure has not been helped by the outbreak of temporary scaffolding obscuring the building while the YMCA renovates the frontage of the hotel.

Julian Luke,

Chair of Trustees, Minehead Museum

I am writing as a resident of Exmoor for over 40 years and walk the moors every day. This year I have noted a total lack of Deer, both in the combes and moors. There is talk of a massive cull recently, but it seems to be that they are all but wiped out.nAnother animal that has disappeared is the humble Squirrel, totally gone, from millions of the critters everywhere to none at all. What has happened to them?

I have witnessed other animals not common on Exmoor including wild pigs, I will not say where as I suspect you will be straight off to shoot them also. The other animal I encountered the other day, was a Pole cat, with kits. This begs the question, why reintroduce such an animal then wipe out its main prey, namely the squirrel?

You talk of conservation but your actions are opposite.

James Adlington,

Exmoor

This Sun Awareness Week (12-18 May) we would like to remind cat owners that it’s not only humans that need sun protection as the weather heats up, but cats too, especially those with pale or thin fur.

At Cats Protection we often take cats into our care who have been out in the sun for extended periods and have developed cancerous cells as a result. Cats with unpigmented ears or noses are susceptible to skin cancer through sun damage and we know that a third of all skin cancers that are presented in cats are due to sun exposure.

We recently treated all-white cat Gracie’s sun damaged ears which had become burned and painful, leading to the development of skin cancer. The treatment she needed was the complete removal of her ear flaps. Thankfully she has made an excellent recovery and has been successfully rehomed, however this could easily have been a different outcome if the cancer had developed further.

There are some simple tips that can help protect cats in the sun including:

The Cats Protection website has plenty more tips and guidance for keeping cats safe during warm weather - www.cats.org.uk/help-and-advice/home-and-environment/cats-and-warm-weather

Sarah Elliott,

Central Veterinary Officer, Cats Protection

So, no sooner has the right wing plot to oust Kemi Badenoch by Robert Jenrick been exposed and later denied by Tory hierarchy like Kevin Hollinrake, than up pops one of Jenrick's henchmen, former North Northants council leader, Jason Smithers, to twist the knife. And no sooner than Smithers had his say, up pops Kevin Hollinrake to again have his say, but this time by calling for "strong leadership" in yet another dig at Badenoch's leadership.

This isn't the strong leadership or good communications that Hollinrake pretends to advocate for at all. It's a continuation of post Brexit civil war in the Conservative Party that both Hollinrake and Badenoch have denied for so long. Hence, if the Conservative Party can't be trusted to tell the truth about the state of their own party, how can the Conservative Party be trusted to run a council, let alone the country?

Far from panic and fall outs, what our country needs is a party that puts country first and party second and, as opposed to the right wing cuts and Trumpian dogma offered by Reform UK, that's a policy only available with a Labour government keeping its promises, clearing up fourteen years of a Tory mess, putting money back in working class pockets, and making our country respected on the world stage once again.

Yours etc,

Geoffrey Brooking.

After all these years of commemorations of previous wars and the sacrifices of the fallen, together with celebrations of our ultimate victories, very often we made pledges – that “this was to be the war to end all wars”.

Excellent pious pledges, yes, but even when backed with the wonderful Lennon-McCartney anti-war song “Give Peace a Chance” (All We Are Saying . . .) they stood no chance of bearing fruit against the enormous capitalist dominating power of the Military Industrial Complex.

Once again, capitalism’s money and business profits rule the roost and still much prevail today as we witness day-to-day horrendous bombings of civilians in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Myanmar, Lebanon etcetera with the size of bombs enough to flatten whole streets and high-rise blocks.

In fact, as most of us know, both Putin and Netanyahu have been so indited as ‘war criminals’ by the UN’s International Court of Justice, and with countries like ours espousing democracy and “rule of law” adherence, we should never have to witness these ‘criminals’ on our TVs without seeing them arrested and shackled.

Lastly, for “Peace Not Profits”, “Welfare Not Warfare “, “Ban Nuclear Bombs and Power” etcetera it’s vital to replace government ‘Defence’ department’s falsely spent billions with “Peace and Disarmament” department’s honestly spent health and welfare billions and oppose irrationality of modern deterrence theory reckoning arming yourself to the hilt stops the possibility of WW3.

Survival is all we are saying,

Alan Debenham

Taunton