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Hello, Jigjag.
It's Elle who is writing to The Times, not me.
I am perfectly happy with yesterday's clues.
I have checked several dictionaries regarding "city" and every one has the first definition as, "a large town", which Bolton is.
"Whistle stop" is perfectly valid, for me.
The clue does not mention "UK".

Hello, Elle!
Good news about doggie!
Perhaps Rose is poring over your email right now!
It may be a day or so before you hear anything as the Feedback column is published on Saturday.
What am I up to?
Well, my 'phone contract is up in early January and I have been comparing various deals on different networks.
Just doing my homework before I 'phone any of them.
And I have made soup!

Thanks Elle and Rusty

The dictionaries are wrong. Large towns are not always cities and cities are not always large towns. For example St Asaph, recognised as a city, is even not a town. It is a village. There are many villages in Wales with a greater population and area than St Asaph, for example Mynydd Isa.

Good afternoon, Rusty!
I have been sticking stamps on all the Christmas cards, and will pop out to post them shortly.
The Overseas ones, though, went yesterday!
Hopefully, they may reach their various destinations in time for the Big Day.
( I am always late, despite good intentions)
You mentioned only recently being offered a good deal for your phone?
I cannot remember with whom?
I have not yet printed out my crossword.
I do not think though that I can face any further controversy today.....
My "get up and go" has "got up and went"!
I was just looking up the origin of that saying ...and came across this poem
https://mythologystories.wordpress.com/2014/01/26/getup-and-go/
We had home made sprout soup for lunch!



Hello, Ros!
Sprout update!
We bought 500g sprouts - 97 individual sprouts ( I counted them) - from Aldi for 90p!


Jigjag!
Yes, but as far as I personally am concerned , you are preaching to the converted!
I have been there, done that, worn the T-shirt......
I got very worked up about it all yesterday.
I have subsequently written to Rose at the Times Feedback to offer my opinion!

I think we may have to go back to Roman (and possibly before) times for the town/city answer. Latin has different words for them - and no cathedrals!

Hello elle

That is the best deal on sprouts I have seen. I must try to make myself go to ALDI as I love them. The last time I checked, Tesco had larger peeled sprouts in their packets. £1 for 8!! 2/6d each !!Did your husband think you'd gone bonkers, counting sprouts?

jigjag
My grandfather's ashes are buried at St Asaph, and also my uncle's. Their funeral services were held in the Cathedral and Elgar's "Jaegar" from the Enigma Variations played on both occasions. I can still hear it! It is a tiny place to be called a city.

I have just read that St Asaph became a city in only 2012, the year of the Queen's Jubilee. Everyone thought it was a city, but it wasn't. Now it is. Population 2001, 3355 apparently.

Hello, Jigjag.
"The dictionaries are wrong"?
I disagree.
Chambers,for instance, has 6 definitions of the word, "city".
The first being "a large town".
Collins dictionary, etc are the same.
Possibly St Asaph would come under one of the other 5 definitions of "city".

Jigjag, Rusty, Elle et all. I've enjoyed the discussion, controversy, about towns and cities - or towns being cities! As a well-trained, obedient crossword solver, I've come to accept dictionary definitions. As Rusty said, many dictionaries have 'city = town'. These entries must reflect usage over a period of time - the dictionary compilers don't just decide themselves. We might not like the usage, we might not like the clue - but that doesn't affect the validity of the latter!

Sorry, I should have said 'many dictionaries have "city = large town" '.