Your letters
16:46 UK time, Wednesday, 28 February 2007
MJ Simpson asks if the Old Bailey has always been called that (Tuesday letters)- it's a colloquial name that comes from the fact that the road that it's situated on is called "Old Bailey". Since the bailey in question - a Norman castle - was built nearly 1,000 years ago, it has been a long time since there was a new bailey in the vicinity.
Jacob, London
And how old did Old Street in east London have to get to be called Old Street? And what was it before?
Aine, London
Is it wise for Daniel Radcliffe to refer to his nude scene in Equus as ? Matron!
Mark G, Maidenhead, UK
Regarding the Times鈥 comment regarding Daniel Radcliffe in Paper Monitor - clearly they haven't been watching the Harry Potter films, given that Radcliffe stars alongside Richard Griffiths in three of them.
Mark Ivey, Hartlepool, UK
Never mind Paper Monitor's gender. With a reference to 'leccy bills, is PM a Scouser?
Phil B-C, London
Rosie, what do you mean, English people don't pronounce foreign words with an English accent (Tuesday letters)? I've heard Chi-ar-BAR-ta so many times when it should be something akin to cha-BATT-a. Focaccia (fo-KA-cha not fo-KAR-chi-a) is another example. I could go on...
Julia, London
Re mall v maul pronunciation. Actually mall is an English word dating from the 18th Century, meaning shaded walk serving as a promenade, and deriving from The Mall in London. This usage ultimately derives from pall-mall, a croquet-like game, which later came to mean an open alley in which such a game was played. The American usage of mall to mean shopping centre dates only from the mid-20th Century. So I'd rather hear the English pronunciation for an English word, thanks.
Paul, Oxford
I shall not attempt to disguise my pedantry, so Mal Walker (Tuesday letters), the phrase "Two of the new lakes are only exceeded in size by Lake Vostok" could in fact be true, if the word 鈥渙nly鈥 refers to the verb 鈥渆xceeded in size鈥 rather than Lake Vostok. This would mean that Lake Vostok exceeds the two new lakes in size, but it does nothing else to them (eg the two new lakes are only exceeded in size by Lake Vostok, and not drained by it). It's a slow afternoon鈥
Dom, London
Monitor note: Best stop now.
The 
