I was a big fan of the Boomtown Rats, and it’s unfortunate that the Live Aid thing took Bob Geldof away from his original calling. The fundraising was well-intentioned, but I think it contributed to a certain narrative about development that is ultimately a dead end – too focused on the needs of the donors in the north and not sufficiently empowering of the people in need.
David Burgess
Guelph, Ontario
“Every time you search for something on Google, you use as much energy as driving a car 65m,” says Bob Geldof, who borrows a friend’s helicopter to get to the Isle of Wight. Doesn’t one half of his brain know what the other half is thinking?
Siobhan O’Tierney
Paisley, Scotland
Couldn’t you have used a more flattering portrait of Bob Geldof? The poor bloke turned up for his interview wearing shades because he was paranoid about a stye. And what do you go and do? A close-up of unfathomable in-your-faceness.
Seb Dewing
Hove, East Sussex
David Horton-Fawkes is worried that Holkham Hall could “easily be depicted as an anachronistic relic”. He seems unaware that any establishment that promotes shooting is exactly that.
Yvonne Nicola
Tiverton, Devon
Reviewing books should be about helping people find the best books to read, not about vendettas against authors. If Kathleen Hale writes as well in her book as in this article, she doesn’t have much to worry about.
Isabel O’Brien
Newark, Nottinghamshire
How many readers took to Twitter after finishing Kathleen Hale’s piece, to search for “Blythe Harris”?
Nicky Collinson
Farnham, Surrey
Please stop publishing Catherine Bennett’s Modern Tribes. I’m worried I’m going to explode with laughter.
Claire Elizabeth Jackson
Leicester
I was shocked by the dolphin Dusty’s attack on Valerie Ryan. Building work at Doolin has driven Dusty to Inis Óirr, where I spent a week in August, swimming three times a day off the beach by the harbour. Dusty was there all the time. My holiday is now tempered with the thought that I was swimming with a dangerous animal and not a doting Flipper.
Constance Short
Blackrock, County Louth, Ireland
If I were “trapped in London” with only “the clothes I stood up in” (Sali Hughes, 18 October), I think I’d buy a clean pair of knickers and a bra, rather than spending £28.50 on fancy makeup.
Sue Keable
Cambridge
Weekend wins! The All Ages fashion column has been recognised at the Body Confidence Awards 2014 at the House of Commons, winning the diversity category for responsible media.
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