Natalie Nougayrède denounces the public’s unwillingness to protest against the bombing of Aleppo and argues that we should do so in order to “feel less shame ... in the future” (Opinion, 8 October). We should agitate to stop these events from happening in the first place, and not because our future selves would feel ashamed by our inertia but because we have a chance to prevent any further loss of human life in this barbaric conflict. The people of Aleppo deserve more than our hollow protests.
Kathryn Woodroof
York
• David Hockney, in his fascinating book Secret Knowledge, casts a different light on the deep shadows in Caravaggio’s Saint John the Baptist, much admired by Jonathan Jones in his review of the National Gallery’s Caravaggio exhibition (10 October). These are a consequence of the strong light needed for the optical techniques perfected by Caravaggio and evident elsewhere in, for example, his Lute Player of 1595 with its perfect perspective for the lute, violin and music (and again strong deep shadows).
Colin Rourke
Emeritus professor of mathematics, University of Warwick
• Re the Trump/Farage description of locker room banter (Report, 10 October): I was fortunate enough to complete almost 20 seasons of rugby and cricket in that bastion of alpha maledom – the Royal Air Force – and never heard anything remotely like these gents experienced.
JP McConnell-Wood
Lincoln
• Christopher Fox (Maid in England, Review, 8 October) observes that “There are wonderful sets of songs by Brahms, Mendelssohn and Wolf, but none is bound to a single narrative.” What about Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder and Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen?
Rev Dr Peter Phillips
Swansea
• Re “fill with baking beans” (Mixed pepper and feta tart recipe, Weekend, 8 October). I am used to learning what the obscure ingredients are, but now I’m looking up Mr Ottolenghi’s instructions too. Takes me back to reading James Joyce in my youth.
Geoffrey Brine
London
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