The descriptive power of imperial units

SIR – As Simon Heffer writes (Review, April 2), leaving the EU gives us the opportunity to restore proper weights and measures.

While supporters of metric measures argue that they are more logical, the measures sound mechanical and soulless. In contrast, the imperial system, once known, is easy to use and visualise.

A pint, for example, is a perfect measure. If someone asked you if you wanted 568ml of beer, it wouldn’t sound right – but a pint would. One litre is too much, while 500ml is too little to hold.

Equally, while 100kg doesn’t sound heavy, 15st 10lb does. And when one says, “They have walked miles”, it sounds like a long way. Kilometres don’t give the same impression. James A Paton Billericay, Essex SIR – Surely it is time to complete metrication. Now there can be no complaint that we are being coerced, and we can end the fiasco of having two parallel systems.

Only three other countries do not use SI units. The sooner we get rid of our arcane system, the better. We would also receive the gratitude of younger people, who are not taught imperial measures in school. Mike Cuddeford, Wighton, Norfolk