The British Social Attitudes survey (Report, 7 September) found that only 14% of the population now identifies with the Church of England (down from 31% in 2002). How much lower does this percentage need to be before the C of E faces disestablishment? Or are antidisestablishmentarians – supported by many members of our other establishment – going to ignore these statistics and continue to give the Church of England a special and privileged role in our national life, including the 26 seats reserved for its bishops in our House of Lords?
John Boaler
Calne, Wiltshire
• Your brief history of backpacking (Travel, 8 September) suggests the first backpacker guidebook was a Lonely Planet one based on a 1972 trip across Asia, but Ken Welsh’s Hitch-hiker’s Guide to Europe came out in 1971. It opened my eyes, and Douglas Adams must have liked the title.
Peter Lowthian
Marlow, Buckinghamshire
• Marina Hyde (8 September) mentions that Boris is back and compares Michael Gove two years ago to a Brutus emoji. Last night Boris Johnson was in my row at the theatre watching Imperium Part II: Dictator, in which Julius Caesar is assassinated by Brutus (among others). Surely he doesn’t need any more tips on plotting, intrigue and backstabbing?
Caroline Ewans
London
• And it’s not just Moskviches and Yugos (Letters, 4 September). You can do Trabi tours in Berlin, classic Skoda tours in Bratislava, and Nysa van tours in Warsaw. I’m thinking of starting up tours round Twickenham in my Morris Minor – Guardian readers will surely be queueing up!
Michael Gold
Twickenham, Middlesex
• May I suggest to Lucy Mangan’s parents (Letters, 8 September) that they raffle their inestimable daughter. Judging by the unlimited scope of her devoted readership, the national debt could be written off in the process and free kittens awarded to the first few thousand runners up.
Andrea Hosker
High Legh, Cheshire
• How could O Brother, Where Art Thou? be left out of the Coen brothers’ top 10 films (G2, 7 September)?
Neil Barber
Whittlesford, Cambridgeshire
