Stephen Grove (Letters, 12 November) says Laurence Binyon uses the word “contemn” in For the Fallen. I have inherited a 1939 edition of the Oxford Book of English Verse. Edited by Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch, it contains the poem, complete with the line “Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.” I also have a later edition. Same poem, same line. I’ll stick with “condemn”. Anyway, why would the years “contemn” anyone?
Danny Tanzey
Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire
• Chard may be better known for smiley-faced vacuum cleaners nowadays, but in the town of her birth Margaret Bondfield is still celebrated by an exhibit in our local museum, a street named after her and a blue plaque (Letters, 12 November). I have lived in Chard all my life and she has always been known to me as the first female cabinet minister. Bondfield’s father was a political activist and was involved with the Chard Lace Riots when the military were called out. Chard could have followed Peterloo (a decade earlier) into the history books.
Dr Peter Glanvill
Chard, Somerset
• “What did Neasden have?” wonders Guy Gunaratne (Made in Neasden, Review, 10 November). He should have a listen to Mari Wilson, who was born there. It may well be before his time but it will take him to a place and a vogue that will enrich his understanding of where he is from.
Shaun Peters
Emsworth, Hampshire
• Re the letter (12 November) about Damon Albarn’s attire, he seems to have previous. I saw him appear on Top of the Pops in the 90s wearing a British Rail train driver’s jacket, which caused much mirth among my colleagues working on the railway at the time.
Robert Clark
Shoeburyness, Essex
• I have just come across the Guardian front page dated 6 December 2017. The headline is “Pressure grows on PM after jolt to Brexit talks”; the subheading is “Tory leave supporters say time has come to walk away from negotiations”. Plus ça change.
Dr Joanna Moody
Pateley Bridge, North Yorkshire
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