Sir: Your paper collectively cringes and the nation collectively whinges because Sir Cliff tries to cheer up a damp Wimbledon afternoon. Why this urge to slag off anything that's not your regulatory cool? Can you not contain your retentive cynicism for 10 minutes and just enjoy yourself? What a shame the famous Whingeing Pom isn't just a stereotype any more.

Stewart Hutton batted for EIGHT hours to score 143 not out

Hereford United 1 Darlington 2

24Seven

Sir: Comic Relief may or may not be inefficient (report 29 April), but fun-raising is certainly more cheerful than being intimidated into giving money by being confronted with distressing pictures of destitute people. Why should giving be accompanied by doom and gloom?

I AM writing on behalf of myself and other members of our guild to tell you that we take exception to being described as, "... elderly women rattling tins and handing out flags ... on street corners..." ("Relaunching the lifeboat", Business, 24 March). Besides the fact that we are no longer allowed to "rattle our tins", several of our committee are still well under 50. Even without the aid of our Zimmer frames, we raised over pounds 9,000 last year. Not bad for an in-shore guild.

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Sir: Labour's proposed statutory right to interest on late payment of invoices is unworkable (report, 19 March). Any supplier who threatened to take a corporate giant to court for enforcement of interest charges would suddenly find that orders would dry up.

Born to run

Boxing

NICHOLAS HARLING

PAUL STEPHENS

`Flogging' death

GLENDA COOPER