Let’s not forget why refugees are here

The article by a Syrian refugee (Brave words, Yvette Cooper – but refugees like me know Britain can’t stop people traffickers, 6 September) echoes my experience with refugees in Glasgow, teaching them crafts for their mental health, and English. Not one of our adult “students” – Syrians, Iraqis, Kurds and Afghans – would be here if they could live in peace in their own country. Sorting out geopolitics would be more effective, but the UN has proved ineffective. Let’s deal with refugees in a civilised way.Karen HansenGlasgow
Re the festival season ending (Opinion, 1 September) if you’re fortunate enough to be in Swindon from 12-15 September, you can come to the wonderful Swindon Shuffle – a free grassroots music festival with 70-plus acts. It’s also raising money for our local hospice. Paul GemmillSwindon, Wiltshire
Has it occurred to Royal Mail that one reason letter volumes have declined is that the stamps cost too much (Report, 6 September)?Marcia HeinemannLondon
Re Guinness and giving blood (Letters, 4 September), when I was at Imperial College in the 1970s, the blood donation was at the same time and place as the beer festival.Celia BarnshawGoring, Oxfordshire
Ian Simmons asks why Gordon Brown commissioned a portrait of Margaret Thatcher (Letters, 6 September). Surely the answer is obvious: to throw darts at.Pete BibbySheffield