91Èȱ¬

Re , in the late 1980s I flew London-Delhi with Aeroflot, the soviet airline. All was normal on the legs into/out of the USSR, but from Moscow to Tashkent, people were literally strap-hanging. There were seats, plus actual straps fixed to the ceiling. After we (foreign tourists) were seated, they kept filling the plane until the aisle was full of stoic Russians trying to remain vertical during take-off.
It was a surreal experience, made even stranger by the sight of the cabin crew trying to deliver in-flight meals. Every time they had to get a new trolley, they had to push through crowds of people trying to eat off trays balanced in one hand. There were surprisingly few upsets, and I remember the cake being exceptionally good.
Chris, Taipei, Taiwan

What nonsense. Maggots breathe oxygen just like you or me. Mind you, they do breathe through an "anterior orifice" (allowing them to burrow head first into rotting corpses) and ... no, that's enough.
Dr Reece Walker, London, UK

As I wipe away the tears at the prospect of , I wonder what our overseas contributors to Magazine Monitor make of it and whether they can cite any parallels? Before anyone asks, by the way, most of my father's side of the family can lay claim to the Bow Bells eligibility factor, so I'm genuinely in a right two and eight over all this.
Neil Franklin, Chandlers Ford, UK

How on earth do we know that ? My brother was born in 1970, and he's only 39. I imagine he's pretty typical.
Adam, London, UK
Monitor note: Mine too.

Could I remind the people that run our road and rail systems that in about five or six months' time, it will be winter. It will get cold, and will quite possibly snow. I am writing now to give them plenty of warning, as they seem incapable of predicting winter for themselves.
Michael Hall, Croydon, UK

is taking its World Cup theme a little too far. My correct answer of Terence Stamp was deemed wrong by the answer elves in the final question - disallowed goals, anyone?
Karen, Colchester
Monitor note: Apologies. After consulting video technology, we concede that this indeed should be reflected in your scoreline.

My employer's attempt to prevent people from watching football at work has had the side-effect of breaking the. For the duration of the World Cup, please could you provide an alternative version for the technologically impoverished - smoke signals or Semaphore, perhaps - so I can indulge in my regular Friday lunchtime ritual of failure and humiliation.
Elaine, Cowes, Isle of Wight

Re Murray being Scottish or British (past Paper Monitors and Your Letters), it seems the Spanish papers have their own version: Murray is British, but .... "Rafa is the man to beat," says Spanish sports paper Marca. "Much of the outcome will depend on how the Briton copes with the pressure and the Balearic responds physically." New conspiracy theory required please!
Mel, Newcastle, UK

Okay, Phil, it's untrendy to say "trendy" (Thursday letters). But it's also unhip to say "hip"...
Luisa, Frome

Err... I may have boobed a little. I obviously neglected that in Jude's missive on Monday she made mention of the fact she already has a husband. And that she lives in Australia. That's another rash wedding proposal down the drain then.
Basil Long, Nottingham

Basil (Thursday letters), it is small wonder your dog was ill, it's a well known fact that chocolate is very poisonous to dogs. Besides, Topics are so clearly the best one.
Melissa, Norwich

Basil, if you have coffee cremes going a-begging, send them on to me, they are my absolute favourites.
Valerie, Johnstone, Renfreshire

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