The City of Edinburgh council’s decision objecting to Miranda Dickson’s pink front door is absurd (Woman forced to repaint pink front door of listed Edinburgh building, 18 April). Door colour has no effect on conservation. The council has obviously never seen the Georgian front doors in Dublin. If it wanted the houses to retain an 18th-century look, it would ban brilliant white, which didn’t exist as a paint colour then, not pink, which did.
Simon McEnery
Salisbury
• There is no need to use aids to remove a reluctant cork (Letters, 18 April). The art is to hold the cork still with one hand while twisting the base of the bottle with the other. I once received a round of applause at a restaurant in La Rochelle when I came to the aid of a struggling waiter.
Prof Dominic Regan
Wine critic, Counsel magazine
• Reviewing the Oyster Club in Birmingham (The Oyster Club, Birmingham: ‘The biggest thing on the plate was the chunk of lemon’, 14 April), Grace Dent questions the existence of inland fish restaurants. Perhaps she didn’t notice that it’s less than a mile from the National Sea Life Centre.
David Sang
Brighton
• Re the advice on makeup use-by dates (Vaseline your pulse points – and melt your mascara! 14 ways to make the most of your makeup, 17 April), I couldn’t possibly throw away my tin of Mary Quant crayons, bought in Biba in 1974. On the rare occasions when I now wear makeup, I still use them.
Anne Liddon
Tynemouth, North Tyneside
• 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.
