Caring for the environment | All at sea | Bread and butter pudding | The perfect pomander
Alys Fowler’s final gardening column (23 December) had me in tears. I have read all of her gardening words of wisdom in the last 12 years and have grown to love her gentle ways of connecting with the natural world and us, her readers. One section stood out: “The act of stepping outside … and choosing to softly, carefully tend our gardens so that all the others, from the soil to songbirds, have space too.” These words get to the heart of the current environmental crises and humankind’s struggle to balance our needs with caring for the planet.
Rhona Bywater
Silkstone Common, South Yorkshire
• The letter about the sailor navigating with a road atlas (Letters, 28 December) reminds me of the story of a yachtsman in trouble at sea who radioed the coastguard for help. “What is your position?” they asked. “Financial director of a major textile company,” came the response.
Richard Barnard
Wivenhoe, Essex
