I am glad that the government has moved to protect birds and wildlife from toxic lead exposure by banning lead ammunition (Report, 10 July). It would be great if its next move could be to try to protect the estimated 200,000 children in the UK who have asymptomatic and undiagnosed lead exposure that will cause them lifelong health and cognitive impairments. At present we have a passive surveillance system that misses 99% of cases.
Lee Crawfurd
Senior research fellow, Center for Global Development
• When working for the same civil service department as Ian Arnott (Letters, 14 July), my husband was told by a senior manager that if he wanted to “get on” in his career he should “lose the beard”. He didn’t – and he didn’t.
Dianna Hagerty
Deal, Kent
• I chatted to a group of 16-year-old bearded students after an exam, pointing out the social changes they represented. When training to teach in the 1960s, we students had to shave our beards off when going into schools on teaching practice. Were we just unkempt or dangerous, lefty trendies?
Brian Thomas
Marden, Kent
• Re Barney Ronay’s article (11 July), Jasprit Bumrah is cricket’s Toshiro Mifune. A mesmerising samurai for our time, he has the gentle mien, the hunched shoulder, the warrior’s intensity and natural authority. And we love him.
Mary Adams
London
• What about Two Soups (Everybody’s favourite manic pixie dream aunt: Celia Imrie’s 20 best films – ranked!, 10 July)?
Lucy Hamilton
Weymouth, Dorset
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