I have every sympathy with Kévins of France who are fed up with their name being subject to mockery, having myself sustained six decades of rudeness (We need to talk about Kévin: French namesakes fight national mockery, 5 August). People think it’s acceptable to toss variations of my name at me, without stopping to consider that I didn’t choose my name and how rude they are being. My husband and I did, however, choose a distinctive name for our son: Amadeus. Fortunately, he loves it.
Sharman Finlay
Portrush, County Antrim
• Over the 20 years that I taught at Open University summer schools on the University of Sussex campus, I developed a kit to see me through a week in a hall of residence. Along with a Swiss Army knife and earplugs was a small bottle of malt vinegar with which to descale the shower head in the communal bathroom (Letters, 7 August).
Peter Barnes
Milton Keynes
