Sir - I have to say that I find the accusations of narrow-mindedness in my attitude to tourists - contained in the letters of Mr Berry and Mr Jones (April 4) - extremely hurtful.
You see, I was trying to consider the needs of both residents and tourists.
It seems to me that tourists want to see The Real England. In which case, there is little point in their coming to Oxford unless they visit George Street or Hythe Bridge Street on a Friday or Saturday night. Whereas I am reliably informed that this sort of spectacle is available - nightly and on a much larger scale - in cities such as Liverpool and Newcastle.
As for small businesses, on my regular visits to the superb fishmongers in the Covered Market to spend my £40 plus, I often find it difficult to get near the stall because of the throng of Japanese tourists photographing the fish and the fishmongers' hats.
In any event, I would ask Mr Berry and Mr Jones to reflect on whether Oxford will automatically be a destination of choice for the cultivated tourist. Was our city not soundly trounced by Liverpool in the race to be The European City of Culture? If we wish to aspire to this status, our University should start offering courses on The Life and Times of Ringo Starr - and not the boring old medieval German literature which I was forced to read here as an undergraduate.
Nigel Clarke, Oxford
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