J Arthur Rank replaced the flicks with clickety-clicks | Brief letters
Stern old Methodist though he undoubtedly was, J Arthur Rank could hardly have objected to the Rank Group's bid for William Hill (Letters, 26 July), since he was responsible for the conversion of his Odeon cinemas into bingo halls in the 1960s. He had previously, as chairman of the National Savings Authority, been the public face of the introduction of premium bonds in 1956; it is said that one Methodist minister, appearing shortly afterwards on a platform with him, addressed him as "altogether such as I am, except these bonds" (Acts 26: 29).
Peter Grant
Oxford
" Karl Marx characterised capitalism as "all that is solid melts in air". Frederick Engels said "Freedom is the recognition of necessity". German migrant blokes with big beards 150 years ahead of their time (Into the unknown, G2, 27 July).
Nik Wood
London