i: Letter from the editor 21 January 2011

By purchasing a copy of i, and then by reading this column, you have already revealed what a fine person you are. Some of you, however, are prepared to go that little bit further - or, more precisely, A and B the C of D (above and beyond the call of duty to the uninitiated!). John Bray is one such. He wrote to me, saying: “You have demonstrated over the past 60 issues via your daily letter that you have a sense of humour, and so have your readers.” I don’t think his tongue was in his cheek, because he then suggested I might retell a joke he’d just heard on Radio 4, involving a parrot, a brothel and a man called Keith. Very funny, Mr Bray, but, as my colleagues will no doubt confirm, I baulk at repeating other people’s jokes.

And one of our Twitter followers provides the most perfect example of the backhanded compliment. “Strangely attached to Simon Kelner in the i paper,” he tweeted, “even though his column is total garbage”. As our managing director helpfully said to me: “Some people have a knack of getting it spot on!”

Meanwhile, many of you wrote in to support our stance on horoscopes (we’re not having any). Robert Smith emailed from Surrey, his missive backing John Bray’s view that i readers like a joke. “Regarding anastrology column, I’ll make a prediction,” writes Mr Smith. “If you print one, I’ll never buy your paper again!” Calm down, dear. While Venus is in the ascendant, it’s best not to get dogmatic. Have a good weekend. See you all on Monday!

Simon Kelner