In his appreciation of Billie Whitelaw (Billie Whitelaw, Beckett’s inspiration, dies at 82, 22 December), Michael Billington mentions her playing boy’s parts on the radio at the start of her career. I doubt if I am the only reader with fond memories of her performances in the Bunkle adventures on Children’s Hour in the 1940s, in which Billie played the hero. Memories which are evoked whenever I hear the signature music, Elgar’s Chanson de Matin.
David McBrien
Maidenhead, Berkshire
• When I was a student in Florence in 1971, I went to see Woodstock. The Italian version of the film had subtitles. As Joe Cocker was belting out “I get by with a little help from my friends”, the subtitles said (in Italian): “I’m so happy for the help I get from my mother” – which seemed to have lost something in translation (Obituary, 24 December).
Dr Ben Timmis
London
• Mark Lewinski claims (Letters, 23, December): “There is no such thing as an innocent comedy depicting revolution in a real-life authoritarian state.” Has he never seen Carry on Pimpernel?
Jeremy Muldowney
York
• What kind of newspaper has the Guardian become when its reporter says that a rural inn’s bedroom has “familiar flaws – UHT milk, packet biscuits, fixed-head shower?” (British boltholes, Travel 20 December). These items in a bedroom do not seem like flaws to me. Does Tony Naylor always expect a fridge, a jug of fresh milk and biscuits offered by a member of staff at his beck and call? Who is paying for his accommodation and travel?
Livia MacDonald
Morpeth, Northumberland
• I was fascinated to read (Obituary, 22 December) of Jane Bown’s method of lighting her photographs by “indirect sunlight from a north-facing widow”. Did she always take one with her? How did she get them to stand still long enough?
George Wolfe
Hope Valley, Derbyshire
• Methane on Mars (Why methane on Mars has reignited our quest for life on other planets, 20 December). Must be the Moon Pigs.
John Timmis
Barnstaple, Devon
