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Eggs is eggs
Sir: Alex James’s comments about painted eggs should be taken with a pinch of salt (Slow life, 22 March). The answer to his question, ‘Who in Witney wants to buy a decorated egg?’, might surprise him — 5,000 people in Witney alone have bought such an egg in the past five years. These real eggshells look fantastic in a glass bowl as the centrepiece on the Easter table. Individually, they also make a cracking Easter gift, with a less fattening centre.
The last time a celebrity took an interest in these eggs was in the 1970s when Romania’s dictator Nicolae Ceausescu banned the craft, saying that the motifs were subversive. The fact that this art form has not only survived, but grown, is a tribute to the creativity, enterprise and determination of the rural women who have learned the art from their ancestors. I visited Romania a few years ago, and met several of the women who practise the art. One, Paula Omania, has built her new house on the sales proceeds of the 9,000 decorated eggs. Paula has applied that essential skill that James rightly points to — marketing.
Trevor Lucey
Witney, Oxfordshire
What Tesco does
Sir: I think it was the late Alan Coren who neatly summed up the purpose of Tesco and Sainsbury’s et al (‘Tesco, I hate you’, 22 March). They keep the riff-raff out of Waitrose.
Gavin Peck
Basingstoke, Hampshire
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March 28th, 2008 9:57pmI loved last week's cover!
Great stuff!
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June 15th, 2008 8:44pmSir, I am horrified on hearing of the alteration of a book review concerning Bill Deedes in order to protect your proprietors. This is betrayal, like discovering a dear old friend has been rogering your sheep. I regret I will not be reading The Spectator any more.