\section{A question of governance}
A desire to be governed by our elected politicians rather than faceless Eurocrats has been cited as one of the main reasons for leaving the EU. We have the chief Brexiteers, who appear to be doing good work, the Prime Minister who has little support for her one possible solution and Jeremy Corbyn – a man who does not seem to be able to mount a credible opposition. Throughout the negotiations, the EU has run rings round our representatives. Who would we prefer to be governed by?

GERRY RADFORD \\ CAMBRIDGE

\section{Language on the move}
I'm afraid that Neil Cairns (Your View, 3 January) is mistaken in his interpretation of English words. In the UK, ``stations'' are where passengers wait for their trains, buses and trams; a ``depot'' is where buses are parked and serviced, while a ``shed'' is where trams and railway locomotives are parked.

DAVID CLUMP \\ DERBYSHIRE

\section{Translator required}
Reading Chris Green's ``A crown of Scots'' phrases, I am reminded me very much of the first time I took my English wife to meet my relatives in Stonehaven, near Aberdeen. She found it very disorientating since she could hardly follow any conversation. She expressed some surprise and alarm that many of the ``white-haired old ladies'' took to swearing a lot of the time. She heard expressions of ``fit's this, fit's that'' hard to fathom and assumed the f word was more common than in England. She was probably relieved when I explained they meant ``what's this'' and ``where's that'' thereby asking her mind that she had not married into a culture of coarse swearers!

JIM VOSS \\ DUNDEE

\section{Good clean fun on the beach}
It's not just the celebrations who can celebrate without leaving masses of litter. On holiday in the South of France last summer, we were among thousands who filled the beach and streets at Valras-Plage to watch a spectacular firework display celebrating le 14 Juillet. When everyone left, the beach was spotless.

LYNNE PEMBERTON \\ ABBOTS MORTON, WORCESTERSHIRE

\section{Slow driving is not dangerous}
It is a scandal that it is an offence to drive below the minimum speed limit. In my opinion, no accidents are caused by slow drivers on motorways.

M FOSTER \\ SHROPSHIRE

\section{What have cupcakes got to do with us, asks one reader}
My two least favourite examples of Americanisms are ``from the get-go'' in place of the simpler ``from the start'' and worst of all ``stepping up to the plate'', a baseball-related term. We are a cricketing nation – we ``step up to the crease'' surely?

DAVID DAY \\ ANDOVER, HAMPSHIRE

\section{Stoking the fires of debate}
I was interested to read Alan MacDonald's good-humoured take on Stoke-on-Trent's location (Your View, 3 January). However confusion still reigns. He refers to Stoke-on-Trent as being outside-the-potteries capital of the Potteries. Stoke-on-Trent is the city of six towns of which Stoke is only one. I guess one could argue that the town of Stoke is the capital – but more people probably live there.

PHIL MANN \\ HARROW, MIDDLESEX

\section{Setters get sneakier}
I have been a moderate, successful tackle of cryptic crosswords for many years, but I am finding them increasingly challenging. Occasionally even I find some obscure word or meaning still that my 87-year-old brain is not quite up to the job or use the setter simply become more and more sneaky.

GEOFF IVORY \\ FRINTON-ON-SEA, ESSEX

\section{No-show GP charges unfair}
Concerned about people missing doctors' appointments. Stuart Angus (Your View, 3 January) that patients have to make an advance credit card ``booking'' with a charge deducted for a ``no show''. But what about people who don't have any such cards? With my GP practice it is hard enough on the telephone to make an appointment, and I regularly hang up after being kept on hold for ages. Might people make early calls to make an appointment but are unable to get a response?

TIM SKELBURGH \\ NORTH LINCOLNSHIRE

\section{Unfair certain but not racist}
I completely agree with Deborah (My View, 3 January) that the imposition of a maternity on women escaping from forced marriages abroad is unworthy of our government. However, I feel that her charge of racism on the part of the Foreign Office is unfounded. I am sure that any white British woman repatriated in similar circumstances would be presented with the same bill.

ROBERT BAYNHAM \\ EXMOUTH, DEVON

\section{We need more Asian seatbelts}
According to government apologists, who maintain that Brexit is a sensible precaution, we must tighten our belts. Car travel is a necessary everyday activity, but Brexit is a reckless game of chicken. Parliament should already have declared itself ready to reject any such option.

TERRY JOHNSON \\ WIRRAL