Desperate measures in the UK heatwave

June 26, 2026 • Environment

Brief letters: Hot take | Climate crisis irony | The last laugh | Prisoner of gender

The recipe for tomato tart in the print-edition Feast magazine of 30 May instructs me to “Butter a 28cm pie dish, use the pastry to line it, then rest in the fridge for an hour.” I didn’t think I’d fit but, making this on Thursday this week in a temperature of 32C, I was very tempted to try. Vicky Woodcraft Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire • Meanwhile, in King’s Lynn and West Norfolk, a meeting where Reform UK councillors planned to scrap a climate emergency declaration and deprioritise decarbonisation has been postponed – because of the UK heatwave. The irony is delicious. Rev Simon Wilson South Wootton, Norfolk • I too was cross at not finishing that cryptic crossword because “roflmao” was unknown to me and not in the Chambers dictionary (Letters, 25 June). However, having looked up the meaning, I was amused by the explanation of this acronym, and did indeed roflmao. I have now been using it in some of my text messages, much to the bemusement of my grandchildren. Manju Ghosh Bolton, Greater Manchester • In last Saturday’s paper, Chris Maslanka’s Pyrgic puzzle number 3 asked us to work out the probability of men and women alternating when five couples sit randomly round a table. If they’re all single-sex couples, surely the answer is zero? Wendy Collins Leeds • Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication in our letters section.

Source: The Guardian