The upstart, the huff, the winning loser and the loyal Tory
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Version 0 of 1. Readers who enjoyed Chris Riddell’s grammar monsters (Report, 14 May; Letters, 17 May) will also smile at the creatures in James Thurber’s illustrations for a new natural history. The imaginary menagerie includes the spitting image, the dead ringer, the huff, the white lie and the bare-faced lie, the quandary, and an upstart rising from a clump of Johnny-come-lately. They all appear in The Beast in Me and Other Animals (1948).Christine HartasNewcastle upon Tyne • In his interview with Bristol’s newly elected mayor (G2, 23 May), John Harris mentions a statue in the city of Edward Colston, “the 17th- and 18th- century slave trader and philanthropist”. Doesn’t the first occupation render the second hobby meaningless? Such “philanthropy” was merely diverting money stolen from the unpaid labour of slaves; it wasn’t Colston’s to give.Keith HughesEdinburgh • Alas, I could not get through the opinion piece by Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (The world must share Turkey’s refugee burden, 23 May), as one thought obsessed me: did he have to write it himself, since all the Turkish journalists are already in his jails?Robert Pierre TomasToronto, Ontario, Canada • I know that the prestige of the FA Cup has declined in recent years, but surely it has not sunk so low that winning it is now an instantly sackable offence (Van Gaal on the up – and down and out, Sport, 23 May)?John DobsonAllendale, Northumberland • On Radio 4’s The Week in Westminister, I heard Tory Eurosceptic Bernard Jenkin say of the Conservatives “loyalty is our secret weapon”. It’s clearly a very secret weapon at the moment.Des BrownNewcastle upon Tyne • In response to Penny Maris (Letters, 6 April), I offer an updated palindrome: “A man, a pot ... to Panama!” Mick HodgkinLondon • Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com |