When our children were young, to lighten the boredom of driving on holidays in France, we gave titles to different designs of pylon – such as “perky cat” and “droopy dog” (Letters, 30 July). Perhaps if we had more variety in pylon design in the UK and gave them quirky names, people might learn to love them as well as appreciating their necessity. David Felton Wistaston, Cheshire A little while ago, a survey asked people where they had seen a wind turbine on land, and everyone knew; it then asked where was the nearest pylon to their house, and almost no one knew. The latter had been assimilated into the landscape, whereas the turbines were novel and so still noticed. Professor Emeritus Mike Elliott Leven, East Yorkshire Mina Smallman writes beautifully about her grief . There is no blueprint – each person must deal with it in the way that is meaningful to them – but her way, importantly, contains seeds of hope in being able to continue to live in the face of trauma. Helen Murray Cooke Carcassonne, France The government should set up inquiries by local university psychology departments to find out why we have had such rioting this summer (Report, 2 August). We all have ideas on the subject, but they are just ideas. Dr Richard Turner Beverley, East Yorkshire An unexpected pleasure when perusing the birthdays column: the phrase “former Conservative MP”. Trevor Turpin Avoncliff, Wiltshire