Sir, – In his reference to Kenmare, Frank McDonald has got the wrong end of the stick ("Time to let go of the hanging baskets", September 8th). Today I counted eight hanging baskets in Kenmare. Yes, we do have a profusion of flowers, but they are in window boxes, and they do not obscure any of our wonderful architecture. I have seen many overseas visitors in our town, over the last 25 years, who stop, wonder at and photograph our most colourful displays. I can see them back home sharing the beauty of Kenmare with their friends and relations.
Kenmare is a living place, a place we are very proud of. Having lived, over the years, in over 20 counties in Ireland, I have found nowhere more beautiful or fulfilling than Kenmare.
Come back soon, Frank, and see for yourself ! – Yours, etc,
TERRY O’ DOHERTY,
Lodge Wood,
Kenmare, Co Kerry.
Sir, – Frank McDonald in the early 1980s accepted an invitation to visit our, then, rather dull and dirty town, Kinsale. He told us that it was up to us to care for our environment. He was inspiring. He got us going.
He was right – painting, planting and caring for our plants unites our community. Kinsale is now alive, well loved and lived in. Our planted environment is evidence of individual involvement. We in southwest Cork enjoy our hanging baskets.
Times change. I live over the shop in a Victorian house and feel much better since I got rid of the aspidistra and planted geraniums. – Yours, etc,
COLETTE BOLAND,
Barrys’s Place,
Kinsale, Co Cork.
Sir, – I am a native of Leitrim who moved to the US since in 1960. I read The Irish Times almost every day. I got a really good laugh from Frank McDonald's tirade against hanging flower baskets. I am amazed that someone had the courage and the time to disparage such an innocuous practice with such venom, but it was very refreshing. But please tell him to lighten up. – Yours, etc,
CONOR WRAFTER,
Union,
New Jersey.
Sir, – Hanging baskets are a modern phenomenon, so how could Frank McDonald see them in photos from the Victorian era, as if that would authenticate their use?
There are a lot of ugly buildings out there that are redeemed by the use of baskets. Victoriana had its fair share of bad taste, including aspidistras. It was not a golden age of good taste but it was remarkable for its pomposity. – Yours, etc,
JOE BYRNE,
Ballyboughal,
Co Dublin.