An excellent article by Adrian Chiles (Have you cried with despair in public? There is nothing braver or better, 28 July). In medieval France, it was considered very manly to weep copiously about one’s fallen comrades. If you didn’t cry, what was wrong with you? Didn’t you care? Crying is an effective and natural way of releasing tension.
Juliet Chaplin
Cheam, London

In 1999, the UK was ranked second (to the US) in preparedness to deal with a pandemic. Now I read that the UK is on a list of places most resilient to a collapse of global society (Report, 28 July). Time to head for the hills.
Jim Golcher
Greens Norton, Northamptonshire

Perhaps I’m proving Jenny Welsh right (Letters, 27 July), but I’m not disputing the quick crossword answer. Supper is unarguably an evening meal. If the answer had been “dinner”, there would have been grounds for debate.
Frances Wilson
Old Leake, Lincolnshire

In the past, the Guardian has published an alternative Olympics table, showing medals per capita for each country, which suggests a different notion of “success”. With the triathlon gold medal won by Flora Duffy of Bermuda (population 63,918), do we already know the winner of this year’s table?
Graham Head
London

A former colleague, Sam Wisniewski, when asked to spell his name, took great delight in replying: “S, A, M, and Wisniewski is just as it sounds” (Letters, 28 July).
Helen Swann
Glasgow