HAVING been a tenant of Oxford City Council for over a quarter of a century, I should not be too astounded by much that I learnt about them and fully acknowledge it is conceivable they failed to send out sufficient council tax payment reminders, just as they may well be capable of dispatching far too many (Oxford Mail, November 22).

Nonetheless, anyone managing to become Lord Mayor ought to be fairly aware of their shortcomings – at times far far graver than this alleged one – and has Mr Altaf-Khan never heard of good old-fashioned diaries and calendars or their presumed latter-day electronic counterparts? Besides, does not a secretary or someone go with the role?

Also, shortly before moving here, I was resident in Simon House and was sorry to hear of its being axed (Oxford Mail, November 23). Such hostels are far from ideal, but if yours truly survived at the Paradise Street establishment for six months, it cannot have been that infernal either and, for most people, sure beats “skippering” or sleeping rough, of which I had experienced on three occasions, albeit only for a maximum of a week or so, which was quite sufficient, thank you very much.

Incidentally, the last place during these spells where I would have contemplated spending the night was the relevant town or city centre, and therefore propose that the true figures for absolute homelessness may well be significantly higher than the rather crude estimations.

DAVID DIMENT

Riverside Court

Oxford