Clive Jones (Eat lunch in the sun, Letters, Watford Observer, June 1) has a point.

If humanity has lost its way in other directions, then the daily mayhem of the masses migrating miles from home to their place of work, like a load of headless chickens, is a far cry from the modern world of mass communication which promised to obviate the need to travel.

The script society works to where distance is a figure of merit and something to be espoused (like collecting air miles) is completely wrong.

Commuting miles every day isn’t cool: it makes no sense either on wealth - or health grounds.

Travel costs serious money and time: adding hours to the working day and costs -be it train fares or rising fuel prices- eat deep into earnings for the privilege of bragging over that extra mile.

Hertfordshire County Council’s CMS Countryside Management Service who had a stall in the Parade at the weekend for Volunteering Week were promoting the benefits of walking.

If car travel is burning a hole in our pockets, then it is also costing us dear in our health with a host of illnesses such as diabetes, cancer attributable to lack of exercise.

It is never too late to change and just a shame that there isn’t more fiscal incentive by employers to encourage local workers.

Dave Degen

Whippendell Road, Watford