Elizabeth Pisani says Indonesia “wasn’t a British colony” (‘17,000 islands of imagination’, Review, 28 May). In a technical sense she is correct as “Indonesia” has really only existed since the early 20th century, but Java was most definitely a British colony from 1811 to 1815. It was the scene of a bloody invasion aimed at ousting the French. There was looting in Yogyakarta in 1812 as British troops stormed the sultan’s palace. Stamford Raffles cut his teeth here as a colonial administrator, and the botanic gardens and palace in Bogor are a testament to his good works, as is the rediscovery and restoration of Borobodur.
Neil Watson
Jakarta, Indonesia
• Steve Webb criticises the proposal to switch the indexation of the Tata pensions from RPI to CPI (Tata pension ploy: fudge or floodgate?, 27 May). Can this be the same Steve Webb who was pensions minister when the coalition did exactly that to civil service pensions?
Bob Dickson
West Yorkshire secretary, Civil Service Pensioners Alliance
• As an ex-rabbit-owner, I agree with what Chris Packham says about them (Hutches are the last straw for rabbits, Packham tells Hay, 30 May). Three things you need to know about most rabbits are that they would sell their grandmother for a juicy, dark-green cabbage leaf, they love dashing about just for the heck of it, and are incurably inquisitive. Keeping them in hutches is criminal.
Michael Bulley
Chalon-sur-Saône, France
• To add to the collection of names for alleys, here in Sussex we call them twittens (Dialects dying out, G2, 31 May).
Geraldine Blake
Worthing, West Sussex
• Titty? Dick? Roger (Letters, 28 May)? My cousin Fanny and I really can’t see what all the fuss is about.
Willie Montgomery Stack
Norwich
• Re the rewriting of literature, Enid Blyton wrote some stories about a character named Mr Pink-Whistle.
Barbara France
Arnside, Cumbria
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