Spare a thought for this unfairly maligned northerner (Letters, 13 January). I’m proudly northern, born in Middlesbrough, raised in North Yorkshire, married to a geordie and living in Durham – but constantly being mistaken for a southerner due to my refined accent. And I’ve cursed my children with the same issue, but maybe they’ll forgive me if I’m a published Guardian letter contributor…
Rachel Booth
Durham
• North is always relative. Years ago, when Portsmouth were playing Watford and the Pompey fans thought the Watford team were being rather industrial in their tackling, they started a chant of “You dirty northern bastards”.
Steve Parish
Warrington, Cheshire
• Unc may be new to gen Alpha, but it isn’t new to me (Pass notes, 12 January). I am known as Unc by my brother’s two children, who are now in their 40s. While I would be happy for them to call me by my first name, they continue to refer to me as Unc, I hope affectionately. When I write to them, I put an apostrophe before the U to indicate a dropped H. Well, it amuses me.
’Unc David Cope
Sheffield
• When is a swede not a swede? When it is the “pretty purple-creamed, dense little ball” we call a turnip (Meera Sodha, 10 January). Let the root veg battle begin...
Maggie Owen
London
• I care for my aunt, who is 94. I often say “Ah, bless her”, but I am an atheist. Has anyone got a secular term which does the same job?
Geoffrey Hinton
Gosport, Hampshire
• Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.
