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A letter in seagulls' defence
Seagulls get a lot of negative press. In MetroTalk (Oct 1) one correspondent even described them as ‘pests’. Can I offer up a letter in their defence?
It should be to our delight and privilege to look upon a living creature that has survived more than 150million years, as birds have.
When the age of the dinosaurs came to an abrupt end more than 60million years ago in a huge asteroid strike, flying dinosaurs were among the few creatures to survive.
Over the years since, the birds we see today evolved from those flying dinosaurs and there are some 11,000 bird species currently flying around our planet. Enjoy the privilege of watching a flying dinosaur. Ken Davies, Birder From The Wirral
Is performative masculinity the ‘latest desperate measure’ of courtship?
Further to your report on the rise of ‘performative men’, who adopt a vision of masculinity sold as ‘attractive to the female gaze’ (Metro, Wed).
Courtship has always been a hit-or-miss (but mostly miss) affair. What began as The Caveman Approach – with man being the hero and woman the sidekick – mutated into the Wile E Coyote Approach of being strategic, viewing your person of interest like an opponent in a game of chess who needs to be outwitted into a relationship.
Every strategy (Mars vs Venus, pick-up artist techniques et al) eventually becomes ineffective. Performative masculinity is the latest desperate measure. Darren, London
A new Lord’s Prayer for Farage
Further to Edward Mitchell’s version of the Lord’s Prayer for the Reform Party leader (MetroTalk, Fri) that began, ‘Our Farage, who art in Clacton…’ and in the interests of balance, here’s another version.
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Our Farage who is never in Clacton / Shallow be thy fame / Thy bank balance grows / Like Pinocchio’s nose / Thine words ensure unrest grows / Pulling the wool over decent people’s eyes / It’s hard to discern the truth from the lies / Thou art sure to go bump / Supporting Putin and Trump / You’ll never be clever. Amen. Phil Turner, West Midlands
Reader questions if Reform have any policies besides ‘not liking immigration’
JD (MetroTalk, Fri) complains that he wants to hear what policies the other parties have, rather than their thoughts on Farage. It’s a good point but does anyone know what Reform’s policies are, apart from not liking immigration? Does Farage even know? David, Manchester
Reader comments on the National Anthem played at the Women’s Rugby League final
It was good to see the Women’s Rugby League Grand Final preceded by the English National Anthem of Jerusalem on Sunday, rather than by God Save Charlie, the British anthem. The former is used by English teams at the Commonwealth Games so why not the rest of the time? Martin J Phillips, Leeds
Is ‘drinkflation’ plaguing our supermarkets?
Has anyone noticed the change in ABV rating on some red wines?
It used to be commonplace for many wines to have an ABV of 13 per cent. Imagine my chagrin to see most at the supermarket are now a measly 11 per cent. That’s alcohol replaced by water. Talk about drinkflation! Col Blake, Ealing
Reader urges commuters to pack (and use) tissues
The arrival of autumn typically heralds caramel leaves and an exponential increase in the number of sniffers on the train.
The cooling the nose on the walk to the station followed by its reheating in an overheated train carriage creates a release of liquid that catches the tissue-less owner by surprise and results in an attempt to draw said liquid back in to the nose with a consistent ten-second sniff or, in extreme cases, a swift wipe of the sleeve – much to the chagrin of those sage commuters who stuffed five packs of tissues into their laptop bags at the start of the week. Scott, Bishop’s Stortford
How much is the bus fare for bags on seats?
Can someone tell me how much the bus fare is for a bag on a seat, as I see so many nowadays, especially here in Glasgow… Dave, Muirend
Do you agree with our readers? Have your say on these MetroTalk topics and more in the comments