Lamenting Black Friday, Hilary Wakeman suggests a “White Friday” as a day of giving to balance things out (Letters, 2 December). However, there is already a Giving Tuesday (3 December this year), which was launched – like Black Friday – in the US and is overseen by the Charities Aid Foundation in this country. It has been running for six years in the UK.
Peter Collins
London
• My wife, who has on occasion accused me of being a pedant, was much amused by the coining by Ian Broadbridge (Letters, 2 December) of the valuable new word “pedee”. However, she then listened politely while I gave the necessary lengthy explanation that under the currently accepted structure of our language, it is she, and not I, who can be accurately thus described.
Sandy Wood
Dalgety Bay, Fife
• Far worse than the use of “attendee” to which Richard Walker objects is the barbarous “mentee” to mean one who is being mentored. This is based on the erroneous belief that “mentor” is one who “ments”, whereas it derives from the personal name of Mentor, the adviser of Telemachus, the son of Odysseus.
Robert Cairns
Perth
• Re “Bad sex award judges unable to separate joint recipients” (3 December), we used to find a bucket of cold water worked well on dogs.
Derek Leon Elton
Todmorden, West Yorkshire
• Is Jacob Rees-Mogg dog-sitting Dilyn the puppy as I haven’t seen hide nor hair of either for weeks?
Ian Grieve
Gordon Bennett, Llangollen canal
• Has anyone noticed that “Get Brexit Done” is an anagram of “Being Extorted” (Letters, 30 November?)
Gill Clayton
Cardiff
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