Sir – On my return from Paddington on Saturday afternoon, I had a most absorbing conversation with a Parisian anglophile I encountered, a most intriguing chap.

During the conversation, I was able to ask him one of those common sense questions, the subject of which has puzzled me for years: if, as is commonly said, Oxford University was created by scholars from the University in Paris, why is there so little evidence of the ancient university buildings in Paris, whereas they dominate the centre of Oxford ? His answer was similarly common sensical — changed usage over the years, ie being the capital and a highly commercial city, buildings had been bought and sold frequently and often demolished as a result. I don’t know whether this is correct but I got to thinking what threats hovered over our wonderful university buildings. That night, by chance, I was looking out of the lounge window in my house, not far from the station in Oxford, when well after midnight, a large plane flew over (from the west) on a line, I judged, directly towards the centre of Oxford, at a time when flights are banned at Heathrow. Its lights were full on and it made a tumultuous noise. I don’t know whether it was the juxtaposition of the twin experiences I’d had, but it made me wonder whether this was a new threat to the residents and to those glorious buildings.

Are we going to be used as sneaky alternative to Heathrow? And why isn’t a gigantic fuss being made about it, as has been in west London?

Malcolm Southan, Oxford