Two slaps in the face from the Europeans | Brief letters

Regarding Marina Hyde’s reference to JD Vance and the German word Backpfeifengesicht, meaning “a face that is worthy of being slapped”, in French there is the similar concise expression tête à claque (There are 1,000 grotesque memes of JD Vance – and they’re all more likable than the real thing, 7 March).
Xavier Roche
London

Fittingly, I read Adrian Chiles’s article (Remote controls, tumble dryers, documentaries … do we have to make everything so complicated?, 5 March) in a hotel room where the lights and curtains have to be operated by a tablet computer on the desk. I couldn’t wait to leave.
Anil Patel
London

In your list of birthdays in the print edition (7 March), the first entry is “William Boyd, author, 73”, followed by “Anna Burns, writer, 63”. Is there a difference between an author and a writer, and will Burns become an author when she reaches 73?
David Rimmer
Newcastle upon Tyne

I do not believe that portrait to be of the “nine-day queen” Lady Jane Grey (Report, 7 March), as the new analysis failed to find the lettuce that presumably outlasted her.
Andrew Ray
Stony Stratford, Buckinghamshire

I see a study has shown that men with high-quality sperm have better life expectancy (Report, 5 March). I had a vasectomy 20 years ago. Am I living on borrowed time?
Paul Kilvert
Hull

“Laura has a pleasing voice” (Letters, 6 March) gave me the confidence to sing in choirs, and to lead children and adults for fun, all my life. Thank you, Miss Campbell.
Laura Conyngham
Crediton, Devon