Falling standards in the teaching of history may explain a great deal of our contemporary woes (Brexit, British empire, Last Night of the Proms etc), but surely we’ve hit bottom when Father Christmas gets treated as a historical figure (Back to the Roo-ture? Reconstructed face of medieval monk looks familiar, 7 September)?
Dr Peter Purton
Southall, London
• In your report (Robots to be used in UK care homes to help reduce loneliness, 7 September) you say researchers “said the trial was not intended to explore replacing human carers with robots, but to help fill periods when, because of a stretched social care system, staff did not have time to keep residents company”. That is a perfect example of doublespeak.
Gareth Reeves
Durham
• I spent my teenage years risking life and limb by exiting the cinema in Belfast before the rendition of the English national anthem (Letters, 6 September). One never knew which “loyalist” contingent would be waiting outside to identify those of the opposite persuasion, nor what the consequences would be.
Dominica Jewell
Bazoches-au-Houlme, France
• Lynne Truss, in writing about her bestseller Eats, Shoots and Leaves (‘Who knew people wanted a funny book on punctuation?’, 5 September), reminded me of my US trip in 2014 when, in a bookshop in Yosemite national park, I came across a copy in the botany section.
Rosy Leigh
London
• Your readers’ letters on ID cards (7 September) don’t convince me, so I hope they’ll respect my civil liberty to refuse to have one.
Peter Collins
London
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