Sir, - Mr Myers (An Irishman's Diary, May 17th), suggests a distinctively English habit of knowing little about their neighbours. His criticism is unfair, at least in terms of this "habit" being a peculiarly "English attribute". Few American's can even name Canada's capital city - Ottawa. A surprising number would also be unaware of any cities in England, other than London - and even then, might be hard-pressed to find London on a map.
At a dinner in southern Virginia a few days ago, a French-speaking Quebec couple, an English visitor to the US, and a German couple on tour, where able to discuss in some detail a range of US political issues and to offer an intelligent assessment of the President's first 100 days. Other than the Englishman, none were able to name the leader of the UK Conservative party, and were quite unaware of, and politely disinterested in the upcoming UK national election.
Let's not blame the English for human nature. - Yours, etc.,
James W. O'Sullivan, Williamsburg, Virginia.