Across centuries and continents, women have been constrained by what they have to wear on their feet, so Ugg boots’ contribution to freeing women to walk comfortably without derision deserves to be celebrated (Ugg: the look that refused to die, 30 March). Of course women are not going to let this fashion slip away. Now, who is going to design the shoe that allows women, like men, to be both comfortable and considered appropriately dressed in the workplace?
Mary Smith
Maidstone, Kent
• What an irony for English National Opera’s management and board that the company’s chorus and orchestra, both under serious threat, should have won the prize for outstanding achievement in opera at the Laurence Olivier awards (Report, 4 April). Surely the moment has come for the culture secretary to call in theatre administrators of proven ability to sort out the shambles in St Martin’s Lane.
John Lucas
London
• As a Tory who reads the Guardian I look forward to a little balance with your ethical T-shirts (Speak your mind ad, 2 April). Nothing cajoles me from a burning hatred of socialism but I wouldn’t call today’s socialists lower than vermin, as Nye Bevan had branded Conservatives long before I was born. Plastering anachronistic nastiness on one’s chest needs some pest control.
Charles Foster
Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire
• Worried ex-Independent reader Andrew Coe (Letters, 4 April) should wait for Saturday’s Guardian, the combined bulk of its sections able easily to ward off the bite of some effete Lincolnshire mastiff. He has merely to show it to the beast with the taunt: “Thick? It is – are you?”
Brian Smith
Berlin, Germany
• While welcoming Andrew Coe to the family can I reassure him that rottweilers and alsatians can easily sniff out Guardian readers and keep a very respectable distance.
Dr Guru Singh
Loughborough, Leicestershire
• I just wanted to thank Jack Schofield for his article “Why should I upgrade from Windows 7 to 10?” (theguardian.com, 31 March). I was beginning to panic about coming to a decision and his clear, precise and incredibly helpful advice has answered all my questions. Not only that, he put a free gift of a couple of trouble-free links to sort out the process. Truly wonderful and it alone was worth the £50 membership. I could have put this in the comments section but it’s too scary.
Bob Pite
Enfield, Kent
• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com
