Sir, I was absolutely delighted to read D. K. Henderson's letter of March 3rd, pointing out the dangers of mother-drivers who (while driving) "sneak fond looks at the thumb-sucking tyrants recumbent in their little armchairs."
I had begun to despair that the letters column of The Irish Times, not to mention Ireland herself, had become totally swamped with all these new-fangled, faddy, politically correct, liberal, foreign notions. But here we have a correspondent who is not ashamed to speak up for the heartening old nuggets of wisdom, viz. (1) the sheer empty-headedness and slowness of woman drivers; (2) the overindulgence of modern childrearing methods; (3) fathers, quite properly, do not drive their offspring around; and (4) last, but not least, a lot of accidents (contrary to what the insurance companies claim) are caused, not by hormone-soaked young, males, but by dithery women drivers, especially mothers.
Right on! It's about time these good old home truths of yesteryear were given the prominence they deserve, lest we forget the Ireland we once had. Here are a few more just for the record - corporal punishment never did anyone any harm, innocence is its own protection, a few drinks never harmed anyone's driving, and there are fairies at the bottom 01 the garden. Yours, etc.
Ranelagh,
Dublin 6.