Neal Ascherson may wish to know that the English too have their Stone of Scone No single state or person can own

Neal Ascherson may wish to know that the English, too, have their "Stone of Scone" ("No single state or person can own the Stone of Scone", 7 July). Nine English kings were crowned upon it from Egbert (802-839, Alfred the Great's grandfather) to Ethelred the Unready (978-1016). We got a stamp from the Post Office each Friday and stuck it on a card supplied. D Sloman Sevenoaks, KentPre-war was not pre-taxWHEREVER did Alan Watkins get his idea (7 July) that no working man paid any income tax before the war? I was 21 years old in 1939 and I paid income tax. I hope this is not the start of another perverse media trend These days, you never know Gordon Lewis London SW19. Wherever did Alan Watkins get his idea (7 July) that no working man paid any income tax before the war? I was 21 years old in 1939 and I paid income tax. We got a stamp from the Post Office each Friday and stuck it on a card supplied.

I remember that when, as a Territorial, I was called up on 1 September I owed 19 shillings and, on getting a demand, I wrote on the form "Now in HM Forces" I heard no more. I am always suspicious of people who show an unhealthy interest in the racial (or class) roots of other people. Lofty liberal excuses don't convince in this case - this smacks of the bullying excesses of gay "outing" - or worse. As for Tim Henman, not all Britain was cheering the all England hero. Some were cheering a very good tennis player with a refreshingly modest personality, whose nationality was incidental. J D GruffyddCrughywel, Powys. I WAS surprised to read Ian Jack's musings on the racial origins of Cliff Richard (7 July). Smaller nations have few opportunities to express themselves independently on an international stage as it is.

To deprive them of what little participation they enjoy would make for the monotony of a handful of larger nations. Peter Corrigan suggests the national sports teams of Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England could amalgamate for the greater good of Britain ("All Britain cheers the All England hero", 7 July). Transport is the fastest growing source of carbon-dioxide emissions linked with global climate change. It doesn't make moral sense to exploit cheap Third World labour and no doubt expose workers to pesticides that have been banned elsewhere in order to grow a uniform "perfect" crop. How can the British get so worked up about supporting our sports teams yet do so little to bolster our economy? It is time for the public to return to shopping at local independent greengrocers who are likely to offer an outlet to regional growers. Don't let the retail giants bankrupt our market gardeners with over-packaged, over-priced, tasteless foreign veg.Jean SaundersFaringdon, Oxfordshire.

It doesn't make economic sense to kill off home markets for vegetables. It doesn't make environmental sense to transport goods half-way round the world. We also have to sustain the forests that absorb carbon dioxide, otherwise the task gets even harder. Emitted greenhouse gases return steadily to the earth and oceans but some, including carbon dioxide, can take generations to do so.Time is definitely not on our side.