Your Letters
17:19 UK time, Friday, 8 September 2006
• I'm puzzled: Blair has said that he will stand down within the next 12 months, yet I heard on the radio this morning that some Labour back benchers think he should stand down sooner than that. Surely by definition that will still be in the next 12 months? Or do they want him to announce his resignation last week?
Stephen Buxton, Coventry, UK,
• Re: "". How apt that the part of the brain that generally results in a sulk is so appropriately called the "superior temporal sulcus".
DS, Bromley, England
• Come on ´óÏó´«Ã½, get with it. Here's a story you missed:
"Traffic chaos ensued around the Houses of Parliament yesterday as politicians' mothers turned up in their four wheel drive vehicles to pick them up at the end of the day. The incident was made worse when Charles Clarke threw his empty Noddy & Big Ears lunchbox at one of the other children".
Mike, Hull
• My office is being re-arraged over the Weekend. At the moment, I have my back to a wall but on Monday, I'll have my back (and therefore computer screen) to the rest of the office. I just wanted to say goodbye, it's been lovely.
Caroline, London
• In response to Alex from Norf London. Currently there are 800 calls a day from climbers but the French authorities wish to limit the numbers to 30,000 climbers a year thereby reducing the call-outs. The French seem not to have considered climbers who start on the Italian side.
Alastair, Sowf London
• Yesterday we had the story of the Swiss man speeding due to lack of goats, today the man forced to marry a goat. May I be the first to propose a goat-watch?
Laura, Aberdeen
• Before war breaks out over whether London is the only metropolis in UK, I'd like to mention that the word means "mother city" (from the Hellenic tendency to form new colonies overseas, then reminisce about their old home town). Since Bala, Gwynedd, was the home polis of many emigrants to Patagonia, there must be at least two metropoli in the UK.
Gus, London
• With reference Saffron Garey's letter about Fish and Chips, I think the "standard" phrase, is "Fish and Chips Twice". Of course, this also allows the joke "I went into a chip shop and asked for fish and chips twice. The chippy said 'I heard you the first time'"
Ed, Clacton, UK
• Jennifer, Berlin. Surely 'scoops' is a verb?
dave godfrey, swindon, uk
• Re the whole gins and tonics debate, the big pluralisation issue is why do we wear a pair of pants but only wear A thong
Rodney Horwood, Aylesbury
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