Letter: Polenta - a delicacy eaten by magpies

Sir: I fully sympathise with Charlie Burgess's assessment of polenta (letter, 13 June) and his latitude theory.

After our own incredibly monotonous experience (in an Old Labour heartland, with static property values) we can report that nine out of 10 garden birds turned up their beaks at the substance. The only species that showed any enthusiasm was the magpie, but it would be cruel to draw any symbolic conclusion based on covetousness.

MARK WALMSLEY

Stoke-on-Trent,

Staffordshire