Garry Trudeau’s Doonesbury may be tame by comparison with If… (Letters, 27 April), but during the Aids disaster in the 1980s, Trudeau gave us the death of Andy Lippincott while listening to Pet Sounds on CD (the track was Wouldn’t it be Nice). This is the only time I have cried at the death of a cartoon character.
Karen Lewton
Newcastle upon Tyne
• Paul Hill (Letters, 28 April) seeks etiquette advice on mingling respect and contempt on meeting our current prime minister. Bumping into his predecessor in our local shop a short while after his Brexit-induced resignation, I responded to his slightly subdued “Hello, Helen” with a vituperative “David”, and that seemed to do the trick – he hasn’t spoken to me since.
Helen Datson
Spelsbury, Oxfordshire
• So, Nasa spends countless millions sending a rover and a helicopter to Mars (Report, 19 April), and when they get there they immediately start taking selfies of each other. How very 21st century.
Mark Hainge
Hay-on-Wye, Powys
• Arlene Foster is described as having “intransigence, petulance, lack of generosity and political myopia” (Arlene Foster faces DUP revolt that could topple her as leader, 27 April), so she has resigned. I thought these were essential requirements for any leader of that party.
Isabella Stone
Sheffield
• Our most talented blackbird (Letters, 28 April) has perfected the art of singing beautiful C major arpeggios. Always in tune, and never changing key.
Janet Mansfield
Aspatria, Cumbria
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