Why Lenin would be a fan of Jacob Rees-Mogg | Brief letters

Re Stephen Hawking’s article How to solve the NHS crisis – scientifically (19 August), would he consider consigning Jeremy Hunt to a black hole?
John Jarrett
London

• On Lenin’s principle “worse is better”, the defenestration of Steve Bannon (Report, 19 August) is very bad news for those of us who oppose neoliberal/neo-fascist/authoritarian trends in politics, whereas the appointment of Jacob Rees-Mogg as Conservative leader (Letters, 19 August) would be an inspiration.
Jeremy Cushing
Exeter

• “Keep it short, don’t wander away from the point, get your facts straight and try to make us laugh (or cry),” writes letters editor Nigel Willmott (Membership page, 19 August). ’Tis a pity all journalists do not meet such laudable standards.
Kathleen O’Neill
Hayling Island, Hampshire

• Craig Wright’s letter about making tea abroad (19 August) reminds me of a conversation I had years ago with a dapper bartender in San Francisco. I was on the last leg of a train trip across the US where a tedious fellow Englishwoman had complained about not getting a decent cup of tea in New York. She was aghast that the hot water was served separately. He paused and said, “Lady, 200 years ago we took the tea to the water and that’s how it stayed”. I could have kissed him.
Chloë Alexander
Ludlow, Shropshire

• I’ve never advertised my (environmental physics) PhD when bidding for fame in the letters page (Letters, 17 August), but soon after receiving it in 1979 our university secretary booked me on to a flight to a US conference as Dr Baker. Midway over the Atlantic came a cabin PA request for Dr Baker to offer medical help to a passenger.
Chris Baker
Derby

• Worrying English Heritage sign just appeared: “Scarborough at War: Use Park & Ride” (Letters, 18 August).
Roger Osborne
Scarborough, North Yorkshire

• Join the debate – email guardian.letters@theguardian.com

• Read more Guardian letters – click here to visit gu.com/letters