Madam, - W.G. Sebald wrote: "The once beautiful garden of the villa finally disappeared under the tarmac of a car park. That, reduced to its lowest denominator, is the main theme of the history of post-war Germany." As the front gardens of Ireland are paved and tarmaced over, this phenomenon neatly encapsulates the sub-culture that is Ireland's obsession with the car.
Soon, the front lawn will be a thing of the past, as we willingly sacrifice more green space to give pride of place in front of our homes to more and more cars. No doubt, though, we'll maintain our customary level of hypocrisy and continue to deprecate the destruction of rain forest and other environmental depredations, as long as we don't have to change our own "lifestyle". - Yours, etc.,
MIKE NORRIS, Cabinteely Green, Dublin 18.