Your Letters
Regarding their comments on the proposed strike action from the teaching unions, the Department of Education would do well to remember that teachers are not there for babysitting purposes. Busy parents who feel themselves inconvenienced should be more concerned with their offspring's education.
Sarah l, IOW
Shocking news everyone! A woman has got married and changed her surname! I guess it's a slow news day.
AK, Ipswich
Why do teenagers light fires? A lot of time and effort seemed to go into researching this question. During counselling Hulya (the firestarting teenage case-study) discovered she lit fires because she "wanted attention". Was this a surprise to anyone concerned in this story? Just about everything teenagers do is a cry for attention. I could have told them this and saved everyone a lot of time.
Martin, Bristol, UK
After breaking up with Hugh Hefner it was really nice of his former fiancee to "wish him the best going forward". Or is this just a coded message? Maybe she wishes him to reverse his car under the wheels of an 18 wheeler truck.
Alan Addison, Glasgow, Scotland
Re: Tudor deaths. 1626 is probably too late to count, but my favourite death is that of Lord Bacon who caught pneumonia from alighting from a coach in midwinter to buy a chicken and stuff it with snow,to see if that preserved it. It might have, but didn't preserve him.
Julia Taylor, Bratton, Westbury, UK
Craig (Tuesday's Letters), it might be that they were collecting burnt arrows. Occasionally fire arrows were loosed against flammable targets in the Tudor times. We really need more information on this one...
Andrew, Malvern, UK
Craig (Tuesday's Letters), loosing may be the term that archery nerds use. The rest of us use firing. If it helps, I will get in touch with the OED and get them to update the definition of firing. Of course I will use your letter to help show that this usage of firing is valid.
Alan Addison, Glasgow, Scotland
Carrie (Tuesday's Letters), I agree completely. I am involved with a musical theatre group and find that if we are out en masse we tend to sing show tunes on public transport. Sometimes we even get a round of applause. Maybe if the teenagers rapped the music themselves we would be more appreciative?
Sally, London