It is obvious that George Osborne (Report, 23 March) got his fiscal policies from the French writer Alphonse Allais, who said: “You have to take money where you find it, from the poor. OK, they don’t have much money, but there are a lot of them.”
Donald Blow
Kirkcaldy, Fife
• Cubans and Cuban Americans interpreted President Barack Obama’s Havana speech quite differently from your reporters. The view from Cuba and Miami is that it was first and foremost a call for political reform (Obama calls for end to embargo on Cuba, 23 March).
Elizabeth Dore
Author, Cuba: What Difference Did a Revolution Make?, Professor emeritus of Latin American studies, University of Southampton
• The reference to Ian Wright’s time in Kenya (Obituary, 22 March) reminded me of the story that when the roof leaked on his car (presumably some sort of soft-top), Ian approached a local man, who thatched it for him. I do not know if it was unique or the fashion at that time in Kenya, but it sounds like the sort of creative solution that Ian would have approved of.
David Lane
Wakefield, West Yorkshire
• Clare Collins (Letters, 22 March) counted male and female writers, but can she be sure? My last letter was a few days earlier, but on Tuesday we had a Hua, another Hilary, a Chris and two Robins, never mind the 26 unnamed others. I’ve added a title today in order to encourage uncertainty.
Dr Hilary Perraton
Cambridge
• So male tennis players should be paid more than female players, partly because their matches are longer (Report, 21 March)? By that token Mo Farah should be paid 100 times more than Usain Bolt and the winner of the 20km walk would be a multi-millionaire.
Steven Pollard
Pertenhall, Bedfordshire
• Asa may be a forename peculiar to Yorkshire (Obituary of Asa Briggs, 19 March) but it has its origins in the Bible. Asa was a king of Judah (1 Kings, 15:8) and is also to be found in 2 Chronicles.
Marie Paterson
Nuneaton, Warwickshire
• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com
