Readers Letters: Ready to fly

Reading Kate Sidley's "What to Pack for the Holidays" (November 28) gave me a warm feeling as I thought of my new Kindle already loaded with words.

The complete works of Jane Austen for free. Susan Boyle's memoir is for Christmas week reading and Ken Follett's Fall of the Giants is for the week before that. - Margaret Kollmer, by e-mail

YES WE CAN

I UNDERSTAND Paige Nick's column is meant to be a light-hearted attempt at humour. However, some of the generalisations she made in "Toy boys vs sugar daddies" (November 21) are obscene. I would take offence at being compared to Justin Bieber. If they are fit and healthy, having sex with older males could well be just as acrobatic or exciting as having sex with a younger male. - Ken Fullerton, by e-mail

YUCK YUCK, BUBBLEGUM

IN "Yum yum, bubblegum" (November 14), Charl Blignaut wrote about blowing bubbles with bubblegum. I accept that for decades it has been an exciting game for children, who compete with their friends -the winner blowing the biggest bubbles before popping. But the habit of chewing gum is degrading for adults.The worst is being served by tellers chewing away, licking their fingers and then touching the articles purchased as these are placed into plastic bags. This disgusting habit should be banned in the workplace. - Chris Richards, Dunkeld

BLUE FLAG BLUES

THE City of Cape Town would like to comment on "Blue flag red flag" (November 14), concerning the condition of Camps Bay beach when the national announcement was made that it was among six beaches in Cape Town that were awarded Blue Flag status. The journalist did not contact the City for comment or to check her information was correct. We approached her requesting a chance to comment, but this request was denied. The result was a one-sided story. - Councillor Brett Herron, mayoral committee member: community services

• Tiara Walters replies: Hayley Mueller of the City of Cape Town did contact me with the request to comment on the piece after I had interviewed Alison Kelly, the Blue Flag programme manager for South Africa. I explained to Mueller that this was a straightforward Q&A with the Blue Flag programme, not an article as such, and therefore did not lend itself to immediate additional comment.

LERATO ROCKS

I AM a fan of great writing: Ngcobo, Barry, Urban Miss. Keep up the great work. Also, the feminist in me forces me to acknowledge Lerato Tshabalala - on my list of influential people, you're in the top 10. - Ntobeko Sibiya, Swaziland