Neighbourhood needs a few touches

A reader says plaintively that Khalifa City A needs more community services and shops. Other letter topics today: the price of handbags, spoiled children at the cinema, space junk and urban geography in Bishkek.

There's a lot to like about Khalifa City A, a reader says, but the area needs amenities.Delores Johnson / The National

The article Streetwise solutions to get our city riding in the right direction (February 18) expressed perfectly my feelings about the lack of urban life in Khalifa City.

We gave up central Abu Dhabi life to let our children have a better living environment a few years ago. We definitely appreciate the more spacious accommodation and our garden in Khalifa City A.

Unfortunately it all ends at the front gate. It really is the little things that make a difference. I have been longing for walking and cycling paths, playgrounds, and a few shops within walking distance.

There is also certainly a desperate need for another Adnoc station, since we all have to drive everywhere.

Khalifa City's infamous pink shops serve a purpose, but parking there is not for the faint-hearted, especially after 5pm.

I do hope the plan to build these "little things" is more immediate than 2030, as my preschoolers will have long outgrown the need for a playground by then.

Emma Smart, Abu Dhabi

How much is too much for a bag?

I am unconvinced, to put it mildly, by Designer handbags are a good investment for any woman (M magazine, February 18).

With Dh60,000 I could make a real investment, instead of just buying a bag that will be out of fashion in six months and a magnet for thieves until then.

Worse, women who "invest" in status symbols of this type are sending a plain signal that men don't need to take them seriously.

Yes, men have status symbols too, and more expensive ones. But an overpriced car is more durable than an overpriced bag, and more practical as well, since it provides comfort as well as prestige.

Charlie Brooks, Dubai

I saw a Hermes bag for $22,000 (Dh80,000). Many people could be fed and taken care of for that much money. And going into debt for a bag - now really?

Name withheld by request

It's ridiculous to spend so much on a bag that's half endangered species and half designer "chic".

Susan Foster, Abu Dhabi

Family firms must find self-discipline

I refer to the story Family companies seek funding to expand abroad (February 17).

Many family-owned companies, small or big, are prone to using the cash tills of the company as their own. Habits die hard.

So first and foremost, before they approach the sukuk or share market for their funding requirements, these companies need discipline in corporate governance, accounting concepts, compliance with international accounting standards, stringent auditing needs and compliance with statutes. Otherwise they're in danger of landing in jail or ignominy.

Dr KB Vijayakumar, Dubai

Noisy children at film are annoying

My wife and I went to a film, Big Miracle, at Marina Mall on Friday evening. It was acceptable but the behaviour of the two young teenage boys beside us was not and almost spoiled the evening for us.

These brats, obviously feeling entitled to do whatever they wanted to do, talked loudly to each other and also played with their drink straws, one of them dripping cola onto me. Worst, one lad had figured out a way to make a shrill, piercing whistling sound with his straw - and kept doing it, even after we asked them politely to stop.

The cinema should find a way to prevent such abuses. Nobody should behave that way with impunity.

John Griffin, Abu Dhabi

What's the name of that street now?

Subdued tribute to a towering legacy (February 15) about the 15th anniversary of Deng Xiaoping's death, reminds me of something I heard when I worked in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, in 2004.

I was told that a main route, originally Kupecheskoi Street, was renamed Grazhdanskaya Street in 1924, Joseph Stalin Street in 1938, XXII Partciyezda Street in 1961, Lenin Street in 1974 and Deng Xiaoping Street in 1997, in honour of friendly relations with China.

The Tiananmen Square clampdown that killed hundreds of protesters was probably the only image-damaging issue for Deng. Some exiles say he did not pay enough attention to fundamentals, but the economic revolutions he and his colleagues brought forth still seem to be favoured by many Chinese.

Gaye Caglayan, Dubai

Space junk will be mankind's legacy

Your editorial Orbital housekeeping, about the dangers of "space junk" was depressing.

Not only have we polluted our planet, but space as well.

Ted Mattingly, US