Spanish practices
Sir: In your leading article last week you wrote: ‘Yes, Catalonia and Scotland were independent in the 16th century.’ True about Scotland, but not Catalonia. Since 1162, the Kingdom of Aragón and the county of Barcelona have been a single entity and, since 1475, the Catholic kings and their descendants have ruled both Castile and Aragón. The Spanish 16th century was essentially ruled by the King Emperor Charles I of Spain and his son Philip II, although Spanish kings would appoint viceroys in all the territories of the Kingdom of Aragón. To legitimise their claims, Catalan nationalists often compare their situation with that of Quebec or Scotland. But such a strategy will only succeed with the unwary.
Eduardo Barrachina
London N1
Sir: I agree with you on the limited strategic and social skills of the Spanish prime minister in the management of domestic policy in general, and particularly with regards to Catalonia (Leading article, 3 October). But Catalonia is not Scotland — it was never a sovereign state with its own monarchy and parliament. It is also important to mention that in the most recent regional elections, the separatists obtained 62 seats against the 71 seats that they managed in 2012, meaning they have lost almost 15 per cent of their seats. And their proposed referendum challenges a fundamental principle. To comply with and enforce the law is one of the core functions of any government. Those laws can be modified through democratically established procedures, and respecting the right to vote of all Spaniards is essential.
Ines Rivera
London NW3
Prickly problem
Sir: I agree with Simon Barnes (3 October) that we should encourage the hedgehog population, but it is not as simple as making some holes in the fence and leaving a few rotten logs around. When I rang a hedgehog hospital to see if I could give a couple of its patients a home, the first thing they asked was whether we had badgers in our area. Badgers flip hedgehogs on to their backs and munch through their soft bellies. We have a large garden with superb hedgehog cover and wild sections but as hedgehogs roam over a couple of miles they would almost certainly get eaten, and the hospital said ‘no’. Since badgers are nocturnal, most people don’t realise how large their population has grown. These days, you’re much more likely to find a squashed badger on the side of the road than a squashed hedgehog.
Marie East
Hunts Green, Newbury
Wilder assertion
Sir: Lloyd Evans (Arts, 3 October) quotes the great Billy Wilder as saying: ‘In comedy every minute over 90 counts against you.’ Why then do Wilder’s two masterpieces The Apartment and Some Like It Hot run at 125 and 120 minutes respectively? And why does Irma La Douce run at 147?
David Hare
London NW3
Agriculture and Sir Keith
Sir: Regarding Charles Moore’s response to my letter (Notes, 3 October) on my encounter with Sir Keith Joseph, Mr Moore has still not explained why, in support of his case he stated that, ‘I cannot find that he [Sir Keith] had any position with Nottingham University’ when he knew that the interview, at which Sir Keith was present in 1964, did not take place at Nottingham University. I have no intention of questioning the evidence of Mr Moore’s friend who stated that, in terms of agriculture, Sir Keith ‘knew nothing about it’. However, inter alia, I was informed by a friend that Sir Keith had an interest in the third world and industrial policy groups which included agricultural matters and that he was involved with the Farmers’ Union of Wales in 1976, the year the wider Race Relations Act was passed. Finally, as I stated before, no apology from Mr Moore is necessary. However, permit me to remind him respectfully that, in our society, it is not uncommon to find people presiding over matters of which they do not know.
Professor Sir Geoff Palmer
Penicuik, Scotland
At home in the 1950s
Sir: I want to reassure Melissa Kite that her ideal village exists (Real life, 26 September). In fact, she needs to talk to her colleague Martin Vander Weyer, because North Yorkshire has lots of villages of the kind she is looking for. Yes, it’s a long way from London, but we have good broadband and plenty of people work from home. After years as an expatriate living in the Far East, I moved here 11 years ago and I love it. Although we are losing village shops, if you live close to a market town, you don’t have to go far for your shopping and you always bump into people you know. There is a surprising mixture of backgrounds, jobs and interesting discussions — and we all know where meat comes from. It is always 1956 here.
Susie Taylor
Old Malton, North Yorkshire
Prom dates
Sir: I have had the good fortune to attend the Last Night of the Proms twice, once in the 1960s (Sir Malcolm Sargent) and again in the 1990s (Sir Andrew Davis). This occasion, as everyone knows, is uniquely British, but in recent years the BBC has chosen to dilute the national character of the music and, for the third consecutive year, opted for a foreign conductor. That was what I, not unreasonably, objected to (Letters, 3 October).
The Revd Anthony Pellegrini
Harrow, Middlesex
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