Dear Mr Kington, I am an unemployed philosopher with a first-class degree. Can you help me? I have noticed that from time to time you engage the services of experts to answer reader's queries, and I wonder if you would be interested in hiring a philosopher on a part-time basis. I would be delighted, Mr Tellerbein. Sir: Dr Mayer Hillman (letter, 5 September) has nearly reached the height of anti-car absurdity. What do blind people do, except those with highly intelligent dogs, when there is no distinction between pavement and road? Or children, who are taught that the pavement is a safe place and the kerb is where you take special care? Has Dr Hillman ever ridden on a bicycle - or in an ambulance - over a series of humps? C H STANDFIELDLondon W7.

I am much more of a pedestrian and cyclist than a motorist; the idea of "paving intersections to the same level and with the same materials as the adjacent pavement" fills me with horror. I never said, in the interview or the book, that a growth dividend could or should all be spent on public investment.Yet Mr Rentoul has chosen to make these claims the centrepiece of his article, while ignoring the range of environmental proposals I made.He has turned what could have been a serious article reporting on issues of vital concern to the electorate into a piece of cheap political sensationalism.I hope this will not set a precedent for the Independent's political journalism in the run-up to the general election.MICHAEL MEACHER MP(Oldham West, Lab)Shadow Secretary of State for Environmental ProtectionHouse of CommonsLondon SW1. Is his plea merely: "I find even this remote display of these emotions uncomfortable, please keep them to yourself"?Mrs TERRY HEADEastleigh,Hampshire. Sir: John Rentoul's account of his interview with me as the new green spokesperson for Labour (6 September) is barely recognisable in relation to what was really said We discussed environmental policy for over an hour.

Yet much of the article was a misrepresentation of certain ideas in my book, Diffusing Power. I never said, in the interview or the book, that Labour should soak the rich. I never said, in the interview or the book, that there should be a ballot of employees to determine directors' pay. Talking to the media was, he felt, a safe way to express his emotions. It seems we can acknowledge others' grief from a safe distance packaged and presented on our television screens but not through individual interaction with each other. Does this distancing not reinforce the modern myth that everyone is led to expect but which no one can attain, of a "perfect" life?Does it not also expose the arid nature of today's society, in which loss of community support has occurred through the individualisation and privatisation of society?Brian Appleyard states "making suffering routine makes it impossible" and that "privacy is essential to dignity". Dignity is a red herring, and privatising grief is what makes it impossible for those suffering it. For all the "weirdly normalised" interest that is taken publicly by the media when tragedies occur, the truth is that privately individuals are often stigmatised and isolated after a child's death, a time when they desperately need others to help them come to terms with the situation they are experiencing Colin Parry hints at this.

Towards the end of his article he reminds us that "ultimately the real victims will have to survive alone" And this is the paradox. Sir: Bryan Appleyard ("While parents mourn, the nation watches", 6 September) unwittingly highlights and underlines the real problem experienced by many parents in our modern society when they suffer intense grief through the tragic death of their children (something I have personally experienced). The setting of the memorial within the churchyard is perfect; the introduction of signs or indicator boards is completely unnecessary and would be an affront to the very spirit of the place. Like a latter-day Pied Piper, Duijker in Alsace whisks you along the cobbled streets of Colmar, Riquewihr, Ribeauville and Turckheim with their half- timbered houses and wrought ironwork and out into the steep vineyards of the Vosges mountains. He might have pointed out that while the negociants may be easier to see, the effort of visiting a good grower is likely to be more worthwhile.Alsace is the most picturesque and foie gras studded of the three regions. He could have given a better idea of vintage variations however.Burgundy is not the most picturesque of wine regions either (Beaujolais, included in the guide, is prettier), but the attractions of a serious local gastronomy, great white and red wines and numerous sites of historical interest make a richer and more colourful tapestry out of Duijker's Burgundy.