Off our trolleys?

Sir, – Have you ever noticed how difficult it is in Ireland to change direction when pushing a load of groceries in the supermarket or a stack of bags at the airport?

It is a lot like trying to steer a sailboat with a missing keel. The cart and the boat just want to continue going in the same direction, regardless of the pusher’s directional plans.

The reason for this is that in Ireland all four wheels are on casters, while in the rest of the world the back wheels are fixed and only the fronts can pivot. Thus to change direction, you just pivot the cart and away you go. Not true in Ireland, where you must walk around to the side of the cart and turn it in the desired direction, then return to the back to push in the new direction.

So could someone, better connected than me, contact the cart makers and tell them to fix the carts? – Yours, etc,

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NED MONAGHAN,

Siwanoy Lane,

New Canaan,

Connecticut.