During his time in Scarborough, as executive director of the Stephen Joseph theatre, Stephen Wood (Other lives, 5 July) was a great supporter of local artists and arts organisations. He was a regular at exhibition openings, gave advice and support, and made the theatre available to community groups. In the theatre restaurant he hosted a regular lunch for independent artists and writers, nicknamed the Lonely Arts Club Lunch, over which he presided with wit and warmth.
Roger Osborne
Scarborough, North Yorkshire
• It’s not surprising that Nutmeg’s father was a tax inspector (Other lives, 6 July). As an ex-Inland Revenue worker, I recall that soon after the merger with HM Customs in 2005, my new boss (ex-Customs) told me: “If I want a job doing properly, I ask a VAT man. If I want the answer to a crossword clue, I ask someone from the Revenue.”
Mike Crabtree
London
• So Saudi Arabia’s sportswashing continues (Jordan Henderson no longer an LGBTQ+ ally after Saudi move, says Hitzlsperger, 27 July) and now we know the price for Jordan Henderson’s putting aside of his moral code and values: £109m. With that much money on offer, I guess he can afford not to care what his erstwhile fans now think of him.
Pete Lavender
Woodthorpe, Nottinghamshire
• I was struck by the words used by the prime minister’s press secretary about someone wrongly convicted being charged for “living expenses” in prison: “it doesn’t seem fair” (Report, 31 July). What a pallid phrase for this double injustice.
Lydia Rowe
Irvine, North Ayrshire
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