Question prices to get best deal

I HAVE just received my house and contents insurance renewal quote – £67 up on last year’s premium.

“What?” I said to myself and the insurers. The insurers replied: “Sorry, sir, we’ll see if we can do a bit better.”

Two minutes later: “We can reduce that increase by £65, sir.”

The message is do not blindly accept such increases. Insurers do not have the virtual monopoly of services such as gas, water fuel and electricity; the vultures the Government should be calling into account.

But, as with super tax, they have a vested interest in doing nothing to rock a boat they could fall out of.

Tribute to a creative giant

From: Dr Jules Smith, Albert Avenue, Hull.

MAY I add to the tributes paid to the late Glyn Hughes (Yorkshire Post, May 28), who was, for those of us privileged to know him, an outdoorsman man with a love of life and a fund of dry humour.

His indomitable creativity in the face of illness continued almost to the end: in fact, his most recent publications were Life Class (2009), a book-length verse autobiography already hailed as a classic, and the poem-sequence, A Year in the Bull-Box (2011), a deeply moving meditation on nature and mortality.

In addition, an exhibition of his new paintings was held in December 2010 at a Settle gallery. He was, indeed, one of the great writer-painters of the North of England in our time.

Rightful sacking

From: Barry Foster, High Stakesby, Whitby.

IF Sharon Shoesmith is successful in her claim for compensation regarding her rightful sacking as Haringey’s social services supremo, one would hope she would do the correct thing and donate the entire amount awarded to the NSPCC.

At least this may show some degree of regret for her gross mismanagement of her department.