Marie Paterson of Nuneaton, Warwickshire, expressed astonishment at Viv Groskop's comment that “Most people didn’t own cameras” in the 1970s. Paterson noted that even her mother, born in 1916, had a Box Brownie and used it to photograph family and friends in the 1940s and 1950s. Paterson herself was taking slides on an Agfa Silette 35mm camera in the 1960s.
Dorothy Whipple’s Home
Jeremy Hilton of Bridport, Dorset, responded to an editorial on writers’ abodes and a letter from Michael Wild, pointing out that a cottage on the Newstead Abbey estate was the home of bestselling novelist Dorothy Whipple for several years in the 1930s. The cottage is the setting for her 1939 novel, The Priory.
Reading Writers
Neil Corcoran, emeritus professor of English literature at the University of Liverpool, replied to Dr David Rudrum’s letter about staying in writers’ homes. Corcoran said one thing can beat that experience: reading their work.
Nominative Determinism and Hope of Rain
Alan Wordsworth of Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, noted that letter writers on 24 August included Bert Love on hope and positivity and Brian Fish on food standards, suggesting the paper should only print letters from people with appropriate names.
Dan Hartley of Solihull, West Midlands, commented that TV presenters often say there is a “risk” of rain in the UK. After weeks of Saharan heat and drought, he suggested they should instead say there is “hope” of rain.
