Letter from the editor: Ready to ramble!

The i nation has spoken. Last Friday, in a spirit of inclusiveness and fairness, I highlighted a letter from reader Graham Nicholls, who criticised this column’s “inane ramblings” about my “extremely dull life”. (If only he could have seen me changing all the digital clocks in my house yesterday! What excitement!)

In response, you’ve written in considerable numbers to say that Mr Nicholls, poor misguided fool that he is, does not represent the popular view.

My colleagues know how easily embarrassed I am, so I can only give you a flavour of what our readers think. Paul Scivier, who said he wasn’t writing to get his name in the paper (too late, I’m afraid), said that, being a rambler himself, he found himself in tune with my own ramblings.

Andrew Tjaardstra said that my letter had become an important part of his day (now there’s someone who arguably does lead a dull life!), while Colin Hawarden wrote that “compared to Cooper Brown, your letter is a font of erudition”.

Mrs Sharman Finlay was one of many readers who made me blush. “You sound like a human being,” she says. (Thereby betraying the fact that she doesn’t know me very well!) “Too often media types can sound far too removed from us mere mortals,” she added. I agree, Mrs Finlay, and the purpose of this letter is indeed to have a direct conversation with our readers.

It was Karen Silcox of Exeter who put this proposition most touchingly. “You said that you want i to be an interactive newspaper,” she writes. “It is this column more than anything that makes me feel part of a community. Keep going.” A big thank you to Karen, and all the other readers who wrote in. This correspondence has now closed. I’m ready to ramble!