I was employed by the Ordnance Survey department as a cartographic surveyor, and in the early 1970s a colleague, and I visited tide gauges located in ports and harbours around the coast of the UK to take gravitational readings. Our mode of transport was a Morris Traveller (Letters, 7 June) in lime green OS livery, in which we did over 6,000 trouble-free miles in six weeks. The exceptionally sensitive gravity meter was stood up, secured by bungees, in the back of the vehicle, and its reliability was in no small part due to the Traveller’s suspension and ride.
Mike Greenwood
Glasgow
• A reader rightly pointed out the smiley faces of the Morris Minor and VW Beetle (Letters, 8 June). As ever, though, we can look to Half Man Half Biscuit and their song Doreen to give credit to a less-celebrated cultural icon: “I submitted a poem / To the council chambers / But they just looked surprised / Like the front of an Anglia”.
Keith Hughes
Edinburgh
• Chris Jones (Letters, 14 June) remembers the AA man saluting when he saw an AA badge on your car. More importantly, when the AA man didn’t salute, you knew there was a police speed trap nearby.
Mike Eggenton
Firbeck, South Yorkshire
• Early Morris Minors had a design fault – the front wheels fell off. I know, I had one – a front wheel fell off.
Dr Nigel Mellor
Newcastle upon Tyne
• Has anybody calculated how many 35mm film canisters could fit in a Morris Minor?
Dr Brigid Purcell
Norwich
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