Stern old Methodist though he undoubtedly was, J Arthur Rank could hardly have objected to the Rank Group’s bid for William Hill (Letters, 26 July), since he was responsible for the conversion of his Odeon cinemas into bingo halls in the 1960s. He had previously, as chairman of the National Savings Authority, been the public face of the introduction of premium bonds in 1956; it is said that one Methodist minister, appearing shortly afterwards on a platform with him, addressed him as “altogether such as I am, except these bonds” (Acts 26: 29).
Peter Grant
Oxford
• Karl Marx characterised capitalism as “all that is solid melts in air”. Frederick Engels said “Freedom is the recognition of necessity”. German migrant blokes with big beards 150 years ahead of their time (Into the unknown, G2, 27 July).
Nik Wood
London
• Perhaps the test flight of an Amazon delivery drone in British skies (Report, 27 July) could be to the offices of HMRC, bearing a large cheque for unpaid tax.
Roderick MacFarquhar
Edinburgh
• Presumably Amazon and others will be flying their drones below the height at which kites may be flown and party balloons tethered on a string? Nasty stuff string, especially when it wraps around a propeller.
Robert Moore
Holywell, Flintshire
• Most leading children’s authors do not want our favourite characters to ever grow up (The lost boy, 23 July): the qualities that make the latter original would be lost in world-weary adulthood. However, there is a breed of adults who’ve retained the carefree joy, curiosity, resilience and magic of childhood. They’re called scientists.
Patrick Butterly
Buckfasleigh, Devon
• If bank interest rates are going negative (Report, 26 July), does that mean that if we have an overdraft, the bank will pay us interest instead of the other way around?
Mike Ellwood
Abingdon, Oxfordshire
• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com
