In addition the Government should look at prison expenditure patterns Strasbourg was a free city (like Frankfurt or Augsburg) within the Holy Roman Empire from time immemorial until Louis XIV seized it in peacetime in 1681. It would be truly amazing if the architecture did not look a bit German.HENRY BEST Ilminster, Somerset. None start with a "but" - but only because of all those "ands"!LUCY SKIPPING Teignmouth, DevonSir: Charles Miller thinks he's being pedantic by insisting that sentences don't start with "and" or "but" He's not - he's just wrong. There has never been such a rule - starting sentences this way was merely considered inelegant by a particular generation of schoolmasters. And a true pedant might point out that of the two "sentences" comprising Mr Miller's letter, neither has a verb.JUSTIN BRETT Clonakilty, Co Cork Simple space Sir: I must take issue with Jay Merrick's condemnation of the public square at the corner of Leadenhall Street and St Mary Axe, in the City of London, as "a sterile, discouraging blank" (Review, 11 November). The finest prose ever written will be found in the Authorised Version of the Bible. Of the first 20 sentences, every sentence begins with an "and" apart from the opening sentence. Their performance in subjects such as history, politics and English may well improve.By punishing pupils who attend the anti-Bush demonstrations, school authorities are being short-sighted and narrow-minded.SHOUVIK DATTA Orpington, Kent Prison reform Sir: Harry Fletcher's call for a moratorium on prison building is to be welcomed (report, 17 November). Indeed, given the current state of the prisons, this moratorium, together with closing those 19th-century institutions that are no longer viable for either staff or prisoners, provides a more realistic way forward than the recent craze for more buildings.The moratorium should be tied in with the introduction of well-funded alternatives as well as shifting towards a more democratic judiciary. In addition, the Government should look at prison expenditure patterns. Where do the billions spent on prisons go, what kind of training do prison officers receive, why is the prison service in the 21st century still based on a militarised vision of human behaviour rather than being based on human rights, social justice and accountability?Dealing with these questions would lead to the development of a very different criminal justice system which would make a much greater contribution to social solidarity compared with the current crisis-ridden prison system.Professor JOE SIM School of Social Science Liverpool John Moores University True pedant Sir : I find it curious that James Miller should take you to task for starting a sentence with an "and", and another with a "but", in one of your recent editorials (letter, 17 November).
The site includes a guide to letting and explains why it's important to install high-quality appliances such as dishwashers and washing machines, which will be heavily used and which guests expect. Billy Paulett, who produced the TV series, says owners who appear on his programme have a serious advantage in the lettings department.Viewing figures for the show recently topped the three million mark and, following the six episodes which followed the first couple's rental business in Tuscany, the pair were inundated: "I think that they are booked up for two years," says Paulett. Buying a property abroad can be a big decision and many owners hope to cover costs or even make a living from the rentals market. The Channel 4 show No Going Back has returned to our screens, featuring another rash of ?gr?who hope to live off the proceeds of their new rental ventures abroad, but how easy is it? Marcelle Speller, the co-founder of www. holiday-rentals , advises owners on the perils and pitfalls of letting an overseas property, as well as ways to maximise income. She describes the first episode, about a couple who had moved to Tuscany, as "a real head-banging session". She was particularly disturbed by the revelation that they had spent "several months" of their income on establishing a website: "We've got several similarly beautiful Tuscan properties on our website, but the difference is that our owners paid just £155 to advertise one property." A trawl through the site reveals around 6,000 properties from Europe to India, with prices and availability on screen. |
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