I CAN understand the irritation of annual pass holders at Paultons being asked to pay a surcharge when booking a visit.

It arises because a proportion of selfish people book and then no-show as there has been no penalty.

I suspect in this staycation year there are those who book say, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and then check the weather before deciding on which day to visit.

I can almost hear the ‘doesn’t matter, I’ve paid for the year’ justification.

London restaurants in recent years have been forced into taking credit card deposits as people booked tables at multiple restaurants at peak times and then decided on the day which reservation they would fulfil – without cancelling the others.

To me it is a reflection of a greater malaise.

On my (thankfully) rare visits to the local surgery or to the dentist, I am always surprised to see the notices announcing the percentage of patients who failed to keep appointments and didn’t contact the surgery during the previous month.

Further ongoing proof of this ‘not my problem’ attitude is illustrated by the daily amount of rubbish discarded everywhere, including beaches and beauty spots and the increase in fly tipping.

With self-quarantining for those returning from abroad reliant on what the government calls ‘personal responsibility’, am I the only one of a view that people will respect this only when it suits them and their lifestyle?

Ian Ritchie

Chandler's Ford