The decision of the diocese of Ely not to have the plaque in honour of the slave trader Tobias Rustat in Jesus College, Cambridge, removed should surprise nobody (‘We can’t believe it’: Cambridge college master aghast as slave trader plaque stays, 26 March). When the abolition of slavery bill passed through parliament in 1833, every single bishop in the House of Lords voted against it. It appears that little has changed since then.
David L Gosling
Cambridge
• Dave Minarik claims there are “definitely no politics” in model railways (‘I’m proud to be called a nerd!’ The pop and rock greats who love model railways, 23 March). There definitely are politics in the layout that I’m building in my cellar – it’s set in a grimy northern city with a gasworks and an old canal, waking up on the morning of Friday 27 July 1945 to news of a Labour landslide. Happy days!
Al Franco
Salford, Greater Manchester
• Your article on wintry weather returning (27 March) sent a chill down my spine when I read that temperatures will halve compared with last week. As 20C is about 293 Kelvin, that means we should expect temperatures of 146 Kelvin or -126C this week. Wrap up warm.
John Tierney
Heswall, Merseyside
• To Sue Edwards’ excellent ideas for keeping an eye on MPs’ work (Letters, 25 March), I suggest adding a trick from their own playbook: league tables.
Richard Wood
Husthwaite, North Yorkshire
• Don’t carry out strip searches in schools at all. That’s the only guideline needed (Government to issue ‘much tougher guidelines’ on strip searches in schools, 27 March).
Danny Tanzey
Thornton-Cleveleys, Lancashire
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