Curious about the government’s skills assessment quiz (I’m a middle-aged pacifist – so why do Rishi Sunak and co want me to join the army?, 9 October), I thought I’d try it out. The jobs suggested were wide-ranging – they included astronomer and street cleaner. So, to paraphrase Oscar Wilde, I could be “in the gutter and looking at the stars”.
Jane Burke
Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire
• No mention of weddings on our chimney sweep’s website (Tim Dowling: I’m facing my fears and booking a chimney sweep10 October). He spends his out-of-season months working as a bookie. I’ll give you his number if you want. Might be able to give you a few tips?
Kathy Pearson
Plymtree, Devon
• Bristol Old Vic awarded £610,466; Young Vic in London £961,455 (Arts organisations across England to receive £257m survival fund, 12 October). Proof that it pays to be (a) in London and (b) young.
Toby Wood
Peterborough, Cambridgeshire
• Piers Morgan (‘Do I genuinely feel a pathological hatred of vegan sausage rolls? No’, 12 October) seems to be both angry and surprised that Meghan Markle would disassociate herself from him after he had a “ two-hour chat” with her. I shouldn’t think that anyone else is.
Alan Pearson
Durham
• In the 1950s, when asked where we had been on holiday (Letters, 12 October), I remember one of my brothers saying we had been to Russia and Persia. We had in fact passed through Perthshire on our way to Ross-shire.
Catriona Sutherland
London
• Clue: “Aristocracy”. Answer: “Nobility” (Quick crossword, G2, 12 October). Are you sure?
Gwyneth Roberts
Aberystwyth
