So, older people “don’t have to worry about childcare” and are likely to have logistically less complicated lives (Ravers and boomers: is intergenerational Covid tension real?, 9 August). What about all the older people providing childcare so their offspring can work? Or the grandparents bringing up grandchildren who might otherwise be in care? When asking “is the pandemic is pitting young against old?”, the complexity of our lives is surely part of the answer.
Veronica Marris
Sleaford, Lincolnshire
• I was surprised that James Meek’s latest novel – To Calais, In Ordinary Time – about the 1348 Black Death wasn’t mentioned in Laura Spinney’s reflection on literature that explores contagion (The Covid novels are arriving. And they’ll be a warning to future generations, 7 August). It is extraordinarily insightful, resonant, and prescient, given that it was first published in August 2019, before Covid was on anyone’s horizon.
Wendy Proctor
London
• While on holiday in Clitheroe a few years ago (Letters, 9 August), I popped into the newsagents. Before I could say anything, the newsagent told me: “The Guardians have all gone.” I asked how he knew what I wanted. He looked at me and replied: “Just a hunch.” I felt quite pleased.
Martin Freedman
London
• If Pam Lunn was taught to read at home with the Manchester Guardian (Letters, 9 August), how come there isn’t a single spelling mistake in her letter?
Sam Babiker
Bristol
• Everyone is entitled to a holiday – with the exception of John Crace. I’m not sure I can do this without him.
Richard Barber
Whitstable, Kent
