Your country diary (14 January) refers to “gwynt o draed y meirwon”, translating this as “wind from the feet of the dead”. It should read gwynt traed y meirw, and it is a name given to a cold easterly wind, in reference to the custom of burying the dead with their feet facing the east. Another name for a cold easterly wind in the district is gwynt oer yr hen Bengwern – Pengwern was a Brythonic settlement in what is now Shropshire.
Ellis Roberts
Bangor, Gwynedd
• So Bradford’s National Science and Media Museum is going to close for a £6m revamp to “boost visitor numbers” (Report, 13 January)? Can I suggest that they first phone the trustees of Nottingham Castle to check whether they think this is a good idea (Nottingham Castle closes its doors a year after £33m revamp, 21 November).
Pete Lavender
Woodthorpe, Nottinghamshire
• Surely Grant Shapps’ threat to define “minimum service levels” in key public services affected by strike action is unnecessary (Editorial, 11 January). Haven’t the years of Tory cuts in funding overachieved in this already?
Cllr Brenda Weston
Taunton, Somerset
• As I finish the Quality Street box, I see that the remainder are toffees, and realise that age has caught up with me. As a child I preferred the toffees as they lasted longer – now I’m conserving my tooth fillings.
Elizabeth Kempshall
Hove, East Sussex
• Shower gel (Letters, 15 January)? Use soap. Save plastic. And shampoo bars too.
Ailsa Johnson
Penzance, Cornwall
