Madam, - Beautiful new granite paving stones are now being laid with great care and attention to detail in O'Connell Street, Dublin.
While it has been said that there are two certainties in life, death and taxes, there is a third one: in a matter of weeks this pristine paving will look as pock-marked as the far side of the Moon because of chewing-gum deposits. This is something we will be unable to blame on asylum-seekers, Brits, Sellafield, genetically modified foods, or incinerators.
No, it will simply be another case of self-induced defacement. - Yours, etc.,
JOHN FAGAN, Seafield Road, Killiney, Co Dublin.