The United States will this week face intense lobbying in an effort to force concrete action from the

The United States will this week face intense lobbying in an effort to force concrete action from the Bush administration over climate change when ministers from around the world meet at a United Nations summit in Canada. Should I be so lucky as to meet the happy couple after the ceremony, would protocol dictate that I address his partner as Lady Elton?GUNTER STRAUBLONDON NW3. The one saving grace is that they will never have had the horrendous experience of setting eyes on us.PHILIP MORANLONDON N11 Gay wedding protocol Sir: I am most delighted to read of Sir Elton’s marriage in, of all places, Russia (report, 3 December). Most important, it speeds up the bus journey and makes public transport much more attractive. Can you imagine train or tube drivers or airline pilots selling tickets?GEOFFREY BURNABYWINCHESTER Unseen killer Sir: The saddest aspect of the declining rainforests (Letters, 29, 30 November, 1 December), apart from the fact that this phenomenon is hastening the demise of us, the human race, is that the creatures residing there that we have not even had the wonder of observing yet will be extinct before we ever knew they existed. As an Irish Republican, she refused to take her seat.JEREMY CORBYN MP(ISLINGTON N, LAB) HOUSE OF COMMONS Buses held up Sir: Why haven’t British bus companies adopted the sensible and successful Continental practice of requiring pre-payment of bus fares, and never taking ticket money on the bus itself? This eliminates the waste of time and/or motor fuel for the bus company, the passengers and the vehicles queuing behind, while the bus is stationary and the driver is selling tickets.

That distinction belongs to Constance Mark-iewicz, who was elected for Dublin Central under the banner of Sinn F?, even though she was in HMP Holloway at the time for her part in the Easter Rising. She was the first to “take her seat”, but not the first woman MP. It was heartbreaking to see them watch his gradual decline, knowing that essentially it was his choice to remove himself from them.GILL WESTCOTTEXETER First woman MP Sir: Is The Independent trying to re-write history? You report (1 December) that on this day Nancy Astor took her seat as the first woman MP That’s correct. Most of them are smokers, and if I had to choose between smoking and food, I’d be driven out of business.The Government needs to recognise that there is not a one-size-fits-all solution – there’s a wide variety in both pubs and what their customers want.

I cried watching his funeral, not because of his football prowess, but because a son had lost a father. My three children have never come to terms with losing their father due to the same illness. Compromise and flexibility is what is needed for smokers, non-smokers and the trade.STEVE JONESWHITE BEAR HOTEL, SHIPSTON-ON-STOUR, WARWICKSHIRE Best in perspective Sir: Thanks to Deborah Orr (3 December) for putting George Best’s life and death into perspective. These can be invigilated to eliminate the under-age, and to make sure those there are doing it of their own free will. Counselling and social services should also be available via these places. These should be financed by sellers having to pay taxes out of their incomes.This is the only thing that will work. Throughout history women have been persecuted for prostitution (they are still stoned and killed for it in Muslim countries).