Before it was a song, the words “I never promised you a rose garden” (Letters, 29 August) belonged to the kindly psychoanalyst Dr Fried in the eponymous semi-autobiographical novel by Hannah Green. She wished to convey to her young patient that there was no guarantee that the road to recovery would be a pleasant one. Indeed, things might have to get worse before they got better.
Rosy Lovelady
Tilehurst, Berkshire
• As a retired secondary school teacher, I note that one suggestion for the long-overdue reform of Ofsted is that “new regional teams will work with institutions to address areas of weakness” (Report, 2 September). I’ve got an idea: let’s call these regional teams “local education authorities” and their staff “advisers”.
Ruth Eversley
Paulton, Somerset
• Belief in the benefits of Guinness and similar drinks for pregnant or newly delivered mothers goes further back than the 1960s (Letters, 30 August). In Anthony Trollope’s 1877 novel Is He Popenjoy?, the dowager Marchioness of Brotherton urges bottled porter – “a pint at lunch and a pint at dinner” – on her reluctant daughter-in-law, citing the advice given to her by physicians during her own pregnancies 50 years earlier.
Sally Jaine
Totnes, Devon
• As an alternative to the restorative powers of tea and coffee, a bottle of Guinness was on offer at my first blood donation in the early 1970s. I accepted it, and it spurred me on to reach 50 donations and a silver pen, but I never encountered alcohol at the sessions again.
Jim Samson
Cockermouth, Cumbria
• A local pub is advertising its Boxing Day menu. This year’s first?
Moira Robinson
Kidlington, Oxfordshire
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