My great uncle came so late in his parents marriage that he was only one year older than his nephew (and my uncle) John. His parents were determined that he was to be their final child so they named him Omega George (Brief letters, 10 July). For understandable reasons he always referred to himself as just plain George.

Francis Blake

London

• Research by Refugee Action (Asylum seekers are left destitute by Home Office, 10 July) resonates with our European Research Council-funded study of families and food poverty. In the UK we found that parents and children in families who had no recourse to public funds because of their immigration status were going hungry. Families who lacked access to benefits and employment were almost entirely reliant on charity, while their children were not entitled to free school meals and reported hunger and social isolation.

Dr Rebecca O’Connell, Dr Abigail Knight and Professor Julia Brannen

Thomas Coram Research Unit, UCL Institute of Education

• Is it really 10 years since Tim Dowling last had an eye test (Weekend, 9 July)? He has missed out on eye health checks which could reveal early signs of serious illnesses. Glaucoma is capable of destroying a lot of sight before you notice, but if an optician finds it in time, it can be treated to keep it under control. Please, Tim, go every couple of years, whether your nose is still long enough or not.

Sue Gibson

Newark, Nottinghamshire

• Bacon from Denmark, oil from Italy, sausages from the EU, butter from France: “A full English’’ (Report, 10 June)?

Rod Hepworth

Leyland, Lancashire

• Interesting that you illustrated the article about the cost of an English breakfast going up with a photo of an Ulster fry.

Linda Weir

Kirby Muxloe, Leicestershire

• It’s 8.25 pm and my bumbles and honeys are still working hard collecting honey from the lavender in my tiny front garden (Notebook, 4 July).

Jennifer Savill

Ham, Surrey

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