A FIVE-MINUTE SIN-BIN

Dear sir, FOLLOWING the Chelsea/Tottenham schoolyard confrontation where the headmaster had to report some bullying, (to the aptly named F.A.) fining, what amounts to a couple of bags of sweets, will have little or effect on these ASBOs (Anti Sporting Belligerent Oiks). May I suggest a five minute sin-bin where they have to (with CCTV, so that all the crowd and TV viewers can see) write 100 lines, such as: “I am an overpaid prat and must realise that the referee's word is final”. WITH regard to the video market of the 1980*s, most people of that era know of the battle between the VHS and BETA systems. Your Friday article (DVD shake up looms in Spain) correctly mentioned a third - the VIDEO 2000 developed in Europe by Phillips and Grundig. It was the best technically having a tape width double the other two, but for commercial reasons VHS won and the other machines and all their tapes were relegated to car boot sales. The battle over the different HD DVD systems may take years to resolve. Do you know that to play a High Definition DVD you will need to buy a HD DVD player? To see your HD DVD you will need to buy a HD TV. To watch the HD TV programmes you will need to buy a HD Satellite Receiver, then purchase and install a dual LNB and finally pay an extra HD subscription to B Sky B. Now here's the rub, after all this expenditure there's hardly anything to watch on Sky. It's a lot of cash for repeats of National Geographic. I was sold on the notion that HD was to normal transmissions what colour was to black and white. Not so in my opinion – the picture is very much better but it does not pop out of the box like 3D nor like of any of the other sales hype. I'm sure in the future HD will come into its own. My advice is not to be a pioneer but wait a couple of years until the systems are resolved and transmissions abound. DELIGHTED to read that Palma council are setting up travel to help disabled. An excellent move. As frequent visitors to the island with a disabled son we hope that eventually the car hire companies may consider renting out adapted cars, it would make life easier. Regards to all. Thoroughly enjoy reading your email version every day. Sally Schofield, by e-mail.