?22 entry is good value for Monet | Brief letters

Barbara Mandell | National Gallery entrance fees | Quakers and the truth | Butterflies in the 60s | Tom LehrerThe claim that "no woman was trusted to read the news in the UK until Angela Rippon in 1975" (Freedom of speech, G2, 9 April) is inaccurate. Barbara Mandell read the midday news on ITV in 1955. However, the underlying point of the article - the notion that the female voice lacks authority reflects an embedded prejudice against women - is surely correct. It is borne out by what happened to Mandell. She was fired as a regular newsreader after a short time but went on to have a distinguished career as a reporter.Professor James CurranGoldsmiths, University of Londono Whimpering about National Gallery entrance fees (All about the Monet, 7 April) makes little sense. For ?22 or less, you will get 78 staggering Monets, unique works of ravishing beauty, never to be brought together in this way again. You can stay in front of them all day if you wish. Compare that experience with ticket prices for other (some "subsidised") entertainments in central London - drama, opera, football, et al - or with a meal in a chain eatery. Let's get real about what is value for money.RP BlowsLondon Continue reading...