Your article (NASA’s lunar rocket crawls to launch pad in preparation for astronaut flight, January 18) quotes Artemis 2 crew commander Reed Wiseman: “They’re so excited that we’re going back to the moon. They just want to see humans as far away from Earth as possible.” I imagine most life on Earth would agree with that.
Pete Stockwell
St Burian, Cornwall
Ravi Holley’s thought-provoking article on the power and purpose of prayer (Jan. 19) reminded me of a favorite cartoon. Two monks are sitting on opposite sides of a chessboard and are about to start a new game, and one of them says: “Well, this time he cheated at the prayer.”
Matthew Newman
Leeds
Slicing a thumb with a mandoline (Letters, Jan. 16) is the fancy version of what has caused so many thumb slices in years past — opening a can of corned beef.
Linda Gresham
Kings Heath, Birmingham
As I age, I find that The Guardian’s daily birthday lists provide a valuable measure of my memory: how many names can I still recognize? Sadly, Saturday was the low point, as Michelle Obama was the only name I recognized. nurse!
Bob Forrester
(Shipton-under-Wychwood, Oxfordshire).
A look at Monday’s Christmas columns: Julian Barnes, 80; Michael Crawford, 84; Tippi Hedren, 96; Richard Lester, 94; Dolly Parton, 80 years old. This could make a fun retirement home.
Charles Harris
London