As the guy who succeeded Jimmy Hill as the corporal in charge of the RASC documents office at Elles Barracks, Farnborough, some time in 1948, I can testify how his energy enlivened our long, boring days as clerks, and his football skills made watching the battalion team at work a pleasure. Little did I guess that his death after a full and eventful life would get a full-page obituary (21 December). Au revoir, Corporal Hill, well played.
Michael Baron
London
• I’m looking forward to watching the Dickensian TV series over Christmas (The Guide, 19 December). Sad that no credit is being given to Carla Ostrer’s comic strip What the Dickens, which ran in the Guardian during 1983-84. This recounted the picaresque adventures of Mr Micawber and the Artful Dodger, intertextually meeting the likes of Ebenezer Scrooge, Mrs Gamp and Captain Cuttle. The plotlines mostly had contemporary political resonance.
Chris Davies
Ilford, Essex
• The otherwise excellent Pass Notes on Shippea Hill station (G2, 17 December) omitted the greatest thrill encountered on the walk to Ely via Prickwillow – a visit to the wonderful Drainage Museum in the latter village, though of course it doesn’t open during the winter.
John Cornish
Thorpeness, Suffolk
• You say “it is likely Mariano Rajoy will become the first leader in Europe to be re-elected after imposing harsh austerity measures on his electorate” (Big parties bruised as Spain’s voters demand change, 21 December). What about David Cameron?
William Outhwaite
Bampton, Oxfordshire
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