Sir – I am puzzled by the illuminated decorations which the council hangs in Cowley Road, mainly in autumn.

If they are supposed to indicate that the area is predominantly Muslim (which it isn’t), why do they come down for two-thirds of the year?

If they are intended to celebrate the end of the month of Ramadan, why do they stay up for one-third of the year?

If they are intended to be Christmas lights, why are they up so early, and why is the design so Islamic?

A Jewish friend of mine asked a local councillor about this, and has received no satisfactory explanation.

Roger Moreton, Oxford