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Letters from 31 March to 6 April 2008

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Whooping, not wailing

A quick response to your comment last week in the news section about the use of 'ululate' and the new Archbishop of Cape Town. Anyone who has spent time in South Africa will know the spine-tingling sound of the women joyfully 'wailing' as a dignitory is greeted, or procession of some kind moves along.

As one who had the privilege of being one of Thabo Makgoba's teachers, I wish him all the blessings God can pour on him.

The Very Reverend  Frank Nelson
Wellington Cathedral of St Paul
Wellington, NEW ZEALAND
dean@wellingtoncathedral.org.nz
31 March 2008

Hanging about under lych gates?

I liked your piece about lych gates. For several years I worshipped at S. Mary's, Hayes, Middlesex, which had a highly unusual lych gate. revolving around a central pivot. Unfortunately, in recent years the antisocial behaviour of certain younger parishioners has mean that the gate has had to permanently fixed open.

That reminds me of another such gate, also the subject of antisocial behaviour, at the entrance to a church presided over by a rector of decidedly right-wing views, who used the incident as a peg on which to hang his robust opinions about the need to reintroduce hanging and flogging. Perhaps appropriately, the local newspaper referred to the stucture as a 'lynch' gate!

Alan Harrison
S. Stephen's, Wolverhampton
Walsall, West Midlands, UNITED KINGDOM
alantharrison@btinternet.com
31 March 2008

Earlier letters

We launched our 'Letters to AO' section on 11 May 2003. All published letters are in our archives.