Rod Liddle says that last Christmas he flagellated himself with birch twigs (Comment, last week). How disappointing. I would expect that, as a traditionalist, he would respect the season and use holly. He might also find that more satisfyingly cathartic.
Phil Pearce, Ascot
Long way for a drug bust
Caroline Wheeler revealed widespread drug use within the Palace of Westminster, with reports that an MP was seen openly snorting cocaine (News, last week). The next day Boris Johnson launched his new drugs policy by being videoed wearing a police beanie and attending a drugs raid ... in Liverpool. Why single out that city? He could have saved some effort, and the planet, by sauntering over the road.
Philip Manning Alnwick, Northumberland
Spruce tree
Further to your correspondence on the “greenness” of Christmas trees (Letters, last week), some years ago I was behind two people on an escalator in a department store. They were discussing trees. One said to the other: “We buy a new artificial tree every year, as we want it to be fresh.”
Nick Winstone-Cooper, Helston, Cornwall
Southern exposure
Villagers without power in Co Durham say, “If this were in London, it would be fixed by now” (News, last week). Possibly so — it is relatively easy to reconnect power and phone lines in a big city — but please don’t think this is a north-south divide. After the great storm of 1987, my parents in mid-Sussex were without electricity for more than three weeks. It was three months before the phone was reconnected.
Amelia McCourty, Tarporley, Cheshire
Indian chiefs
Thank you, Danny Fortson, for reminding us how well we Indians — such as Sunder Pichai, Satya Nadella, Parag Agrawal and Arvind Krishna — are doing abroad in Silicon Valley (News, last week). But, if you look closer to home, you could also remind us how well ministers of Indian background — Rishi Sunak, Priti Patel, Alok Sharma and Suella Braverman — are doing in the Conservative cabinet. We have a lot to offer.
Rajendra Kumar Jain, London W8
Advertisement
Ho-ho-hokum
Josh Glancy says Christmas is “the most important date in the Christian calendar” (Comment, last week). No — that’s Easter Day, when the risen Christ brings hope to the world. I have no axe to grind, by the way. I am an atheist.
John Oliver, Bayfordbury, Hertford
Cabinet crisis
I recently bought a new kitchen. It cost £11,000, which I know is a lot of money, but I paid for it myself and am delighted with it. How awfully embarrassing for the Johnsons that someone else had to pay for theirs.
Patricia Deslandes, Newport, south Wales
Commons error
Nancy Astor was the first woman to take her seat in the House of Commons — but she was not, as you claim, the first female MP (Anniversaries, November 28). That was Constance Markievicz (née Gore-Booth): an Irish republican, she was elected a year earlier but refused to attend parliament.
Patricia Mulcahy, Henley-on-Thames
Send your letters to The Sunday Times by email, to letters@sunday-times.co.uk; or by post, to Letters, The Sunday Times, 1 London Bridge Street, London SE1 9GF