David Noble, of Woodmancote, Cheltenham, formerly of Start Bay Park, Strete, writes: What has today's society descended into? Have we lost the courtesy,good manners and elegance of the 1950s forever? In the 1950s, probably because the country was still recovering from the Second World War, everyone seemed to pulling together and people were more friendly as well. Today, if you hold a door open for anyone, you are looked at with amazement and the people just rush through without a thank you or any comment. They look at you as if to say 'bigger fool you for doing it', instead of a smile and thank you. Today's society seems to be all about greed, it is only money that matters. It has even transposed itself to doctors. The old family friendly doctor has disappeared and the new conveyer belt system has introduced a system where the practice has to be cost-effective. As a carer, one hoped to be treated with some sympathy when attending for medicine, not be chastised for the cost of changing a certain one on the advice of a near relative who had experienced bad side effects. I say this even though my son is a doctor in Liverpool. When you drive a car, all it seems to be is a matter of survival – drivers going too fast, tailgating, using mobile phones and smoking. How can you control a car when your hands are on the top of the steering wheel? Together with the other things I have mentioned, it makes driving a dangerous business these days. Schools in the 1950s were places you enjoyed going to. The teachers were strict but they were still respected. Today it seems anything goes. School children dress as they want, girls with the shortest skirts possible and boys as slovenly as possible. What are parents thinking about, or don't they care how their children behave or dress. I can say this because number two son, a teacher in London, has been attacked twice in class and hates every day that he has to go to school. Regarding elegance, what has happened to the dress sense of ladies? Where have the lovely dresses of the 1950s disappeared? Would it be that television presenters wear the shortest dresses possible, do not know to sit properly and end up on YouTube under a heading ' how far can you see up my skirt?' Clothes these days seem to be worn two sizes too small and do not do anything for a person's elegance and give a wrong impression of the character involved. I will not even mention current hair styles – one does not know whether to laugh or cry. Perhaps it is question of living in the past. However, the 1950s was a good time to be learning about life slowly, not as today where youngsters have to be street wise before they are even 10.