Re commemorating slave traders (Letters, 22 September), wandering out the back of the Government Museum in Chennai, India, I chanced on a couple of abandoned statues of imperial majesties from the Raj. Covered in bird droppings and weathered by time, it was clear that no one had known what to do with them and they had been put out back to face the elements and solitude. No plaque, nothing – just the original, faded chiselled descriptor. It struck me as a marvellously grownup and pragmatic response to the statuary of the previous regime. I recommend a similar abandonment for our own unwanted.
Mark Doel
Emeritus professor, Sheffield Hallam University
• I agree with Ellie Violet Bramley (‘Just take a bubble bath!’ Why faux self-care won’t solve our problems, 25 September). Self-care looks very much like the superficial stopgap in a life overloaded by consumerism. I wonder if the growth of “mindfulness” was a result of austerity – a free solution for a cash-strapped world. People need freedom from poverty and sickness to heal instead of colouring books sold at the supermarket checkout.
Ian McKenzie
Perth
• One night in the late 1970s, after the pubs shut, I discovered that my unlocked bicycle had been stolen, so I went directly to Grimsby police station. “I’ve come to report my bike,” I said to the desk sergeant. “Why, what’s it done?” was his reply. Still makes me smile (Letters, 25 September).
Martin Lowe
Chesterfield, Derbyshire
• The predictive text on my laptop changes “Sunak” to “Sunk”. Sounds about right.
David McCrone
Edinburgh
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