Head rules the heart in French elections | Brief letters

Regarding the surprise election results in France ( Report, 7 July ), it was always said that in the first electoral round the French voted with their hearts and in the second with their heads. Clearly they have not changed.
John Cundill
London

• Re Andrea Meanwell’s Country Diary ( 6 July ), I was brought up not far from Tebay, in the Eden Valley. I have fond memories of my dad and other farmers going swimming in the River Eden after a hard day’s work in the hayfields. They looked forward to cooling down and relaxing. We children spent happy times playing in the river too. As Andrea says, we wouldn’t do it now. What a tragedy that our rivers are now so polluted we can no longer enjoy those simple pleasures.
Maggie Rylance
Winchester

• Paul Brown describes the crop of buckwheat, unfamiliar in the UK, as being a favourite of bees and other insects ( Weatherwatch: Buckwheat, miracle crop for a future of extreme heat, 5 July ). Last year, I placed two beehives on a field of buckwheat. The honey has a strong smell and taste. My wife and I consider it the nectar of the gods, others compare it to pig slurry.
Giles Youngs
Drinkstone, Suffolk

• Thank you for the helpful advice on how to solve summer problems ( 6 July ). But I couldn’t find the explainer telling us what summer is and when we might expect it.
Pauline Jeffreys
Cardiff

• A win on penalties in the Euros, and Lewis Hamilton wins the British Grand Prix. Things are looking up already.
John Carter
Wimbledon, London

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