In 1999, living on the edge of Dartmoor, I bought a decent telescope, hoping for a spectacular view of the eclipse (Report, 16 March). All I saw were two fleeting glimpses of the partial phases before and after the event. But I used the telescope to view the hundreds of hopefuls on the moor along the road to Princetown. When the two minutes of totality arrived, they took pictures of the darkness on their cameras, the built-in flashes all being automatically triggered by the low light levels. I’ve been puzzled ever since as to what they expected their pictures to show, with or without flash.
K Vines
Yelverton, Devon
• A few years ago the wonderful Jane Glover was asked by a male Radio 3 presenter how the other (predominantly male) musicians addressed her (Why haven’t you heard of Mozart’s sister?, 28 February; Letters, 13 March. “After all,” he said, “they can’t call you maestro!” She quite calmly replied: “No, they call me Jane.”
Bob Caldwell
Daventry
• Your report about beavers in the River Otter (“Beavers feared to pose risk to humans get clean bill of health”, 12 March) prompts me to wonder whether there are otters in the Vale of Belvoir.
Dan Howison
Oakham, Rutland
• Could the Guardian file a freedom of information request to see how many kitchens every candidate standing in the general election has (Miliband takes heat over second kitchen, 14 March)?
Roy Grimwood
Market Drayton, Shropshire
• The slogan of the people who sometimes drive me to airports is “We go the extra mile” (Letters, 14 March). I pointed out that this would require me to walk back again and probably miss my flight.
Rod Clarke
Truro
• If there was a lid on Stonehenge (Report, 16 March), it seems just as likely that it was made of a giant turtle that had four elephants on its back that in turn supported a world of their own.
Ron Brewer
Old Buckenham, Norfolk
