Larry Elliott rightly states: “Boris Johnson and his ministers cannot be blamed for the arrival of a pandemic” (UK economy: a full recovery from the Covid slump will be slow, 12 August). Nor could Gordon Brown and his ministers be blamed for a global banking crash, yet I seem to remember David Cameron doing just that and winning an election on its back.
Ken Gambles
Knaresborough, North Yorkshire
• “Politicians are not born, they are excreted” (Letters, 12 August). Absolutely right, but Cicero’s words, not Ovid’s.
Alec Sandison
Ottery St Mary, Devon
• If sleeping mats and slowly-deflating air beds have lost their charm (Take frozen curry, buy a blackout tent: 16 expert tips for the perfect camping trip, 13 August), we have found luxury in the form of the padded fishing bed-chair. Definitely not suitable for backpacking, though.
Ruth Eversley
Paulton, Somerset
• If Michael Rosen and his family would like to stay with me, in view of the cancellation of their holiday in Somerset, they would be most welcome (Report, 12 August). Assuming he and his wife are Guardian readers, I’m sure we’d get on well.
Nicola Campbell
Macclesfield, Cheshire
• Though saddened by the news from my home town, please do not deepen the pain by referring to Oldham as “the Greater Manchester town” (Oldham may face full lockdown after Covid cases double, 11 August). As any local will tell you, it is the other way round.
Dr Les Garner
London
