Cry of the curlew has given way to silence

Northumberland national park | Solar panels | Care costs | Influencers | Housework

It’s not just Wales that is depleted of curlews (New initiative aims to save curlew from extinction in Wales, 22 November). Forty years ago, I regularly walked stretches of Hadrian’s Wall in the Northumberland national park to the constant warbling of curlews, which was almost deafening. This year, I did some of the same walks in total silence. I was deeply saddened by the absence of the beautiful, haunting song of the curlew, which is, ironically, the symbol of the Northumberland national park.
John Rippon
Durham

• Alice Renton makes a good point about solar panels in new-build homes (Letters, 23 November). But I recently saw an electric van with solar panels taped and tied to the roof and bonnet – the driver claimed it extended his range by five or six miles, even though it was just a rough-and-ready job. When will electric vehicle manufacturers start building solar panels into the bodywork?
Stephen Ingamells
Ilford, London

• David Lipsey explains that poorer people won’t have to sell their homes to cover care costs: their children will (Letters, 21 November) . Oh right. Problem solved. Big fuss about nothing. Why did no one explain earlier?
Chris George
Seaford, East Sussex

• An interesting article (‘People are nasty as hell on there’: the battle to close Tattle – the most hate-filled corner of the web, 24 November), but what on earth is an “influencer”?
Allan McRobert
Kirkcaldy, Fife

• My aunt, aged 104, still irons her sheets (Letters, 23 November).
Kate St John
London

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