Letter: Stable atmosphere

Sir: Many years ago, when I was in the souk in Aleppo, I saw a large caravanserai, with the sleeping quarters upstairs and open arches to the accommodation for animals below. If Mary and Joseph arrived at such a place and Mary was already in labour, what more sensible than for them to have gone to the quiet of the stables, rather than the turmoil of the upper rooms?

Yours sincerely,

NANCY BOSANQUET

Oxford