A letter to the Guardian has drawn attention to Newstead Abbey in Nottinghamshire, the ancestral home of the poet Lord Byron, as a notable writer's abode omitted from a recent editorial on the subject. The letter, from Michael Wild of Princetown, Devon, describes the building as a “splendid gothic ancestral home” that, despite later Victorian renovation, remains “embosomed in a happy valley” where “Through thy battlements … the hollow winds whistle”.
Dancing Morals and Heatwave Risks
In another letter, Jennifer Macwhinnie of London recalls that at Wolverhampton Civic Hall in the 1960s, a man would tap on the shoulder of any couple dancing closer than a chaste ballroom-dancing hold, guarding the morals of the evening.
A study in Lancet Public Health has found that heatwaves pose serious risks for the over-60s. Mike Pender of Cardiff, describing himself as “well over 60”, notes that Richard Tice, a 61-year-old man, tells people to stop fighting the climate crisis and enjoy the heatwaves.
Larry the Cat and Tuna Success
Pauline Jeffreys of Cardiff comments on Andy Burnham's drive to end rough sleeping outside No 10, expressing hope that someone tells Larry the cat.
Regarding the reported ‘success story’ of bluefin tuna caught off Yorkshire for the first time since the 1960s, Mike Smith of Hythe, Hampshire, questions whether the tuna would agree with that description. Colin Merry of Lincoln suggests that the way to celebrate conservation success is to leave the tuna in the North Sea to breed.
