I’ve no knowledge of the authenticity of the photo with the “No Irish” sign (Letters, 29 October). But I do remember as a child seeing “No Irish” signs in windows in Moss Side, Manchester, in the 1950s and 1960s. When I asked my (Irish) father what they meant he explained that the poor people in those houses had no Irish people lodging with them, so they were on the look out for a few of us to bring a bit of “good craic” into their lives. It wasn’t a bad lie to tell to an Irish child.
Mary Kirrane
Altrincham, Cheshire
• Please stop publishing letters from the likes of Mr Lloyd (It’s neither grim nor expensive up north, 30 October). Those of us who live comfortably and economically in the north don’t want to be invaded by wannabes from the south, thanks.
Ray Woodhams
Barnsley
• The prospect of eating “oven chips” on a “caravan holiday”, while being towed by a “replacement bus”, reading the words “defining moment” in the Guardian (Letters, 28 October) would be tolerable if I never read the phrase “coasting schools” ever again.
Jon Corfield
Birmingham
• A pity that Stuart Heritage had only eight famous film cars (Film and music, 30 October), especially as the Doof Wagon and Ecto-1 just did not merit the listing. Much better to have included the two most iconic classic cars: James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 (Goldfinger, 1964) and Detective Frank Bullitt’s Ford Mustang GT fastback 390 V8 (Bullitt, 1968). The Mustang set the standard for all future car-chase sequences.
Paul Faupel
Somersham, Cambridgeshire
• Has anyone else noticed the physical similarity between C in the latest James Bond and George Osborne? Different ambitions perhaps.
Rev Sue Nightingale
York
• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com
