The appalling events this week in India have brought into focus the Times Style Guide's advice on foreign place names, and our preference for referring to Bombay rather than Mumbai.

Several readers have challenged us on it, and while it was of course merely a side issue to the unfolding tragedy, the Editor, foreign editor and chief revise editor discussed the matter on Thursday and, as some readers may have noted from the latter's “Behind the story” panel in yesterday's paper, we have taken the decision to change our house style to Mumbai from Monday (we considered it best to wait a day to avoid any inconsistencies with those sections of today's paper that had gone to press before the decision was taken).

However, because it raises the whole issue of the political and emotional “loading” that place names can carry, which is always a lively topic of discussion both inside and outside The Times, and as it is a while since I referred to it in this column, I think it is worth going over it again here.

Our unwavering aim in drawing up and observing the Times Style Guide is to maximise ease and clarity of understanding for Times readers, regardless - if necessary - of the wishes of the country, city or town under discussion. In this we are not, of course, alone; consider that French newspapers, for example, refer to Angleterre, not England, and to Londres rather than London for the ease of understanding of their French readers.

Until this week we preferred Bombay not, as some readers have accused us, out of diehard nostalgia for the Raj and Empire, but simply because we believed that more Times readers were familiar with the name Bombay than with Mumbai. But the style guide is not written in stone, and we keep all its entries under constant review. This week's media coverage means that Mumbai is now more recognisable, and so we are changing our style.

Before you all raise it, however, we have no plans - yet - to alter our preference for Burma over Myanmar, largely on the “greatest familiarity” principle, although here there is a political element too: the Burmese military authorities promoted the local name Myanmar in 1989, but it was not approved by any sitting legislature.

And if anybody dismisses the notion that place names carry political baggage, consider Derry and Londonderry, or Persian Gulf and Arabian Gulf.

Capital show

Last Sunday Tony Knifton e-mailed from Liverpool: “I would like to apply for a partial refund of my subscription. In the five days ended Friday November 21, of the 29 reviews, 26 were of London shows and exhibitions. If this predominance is likely to continue it reduces the value of your newspaper for those who live north of Watford. Perhaps you would consider a separate edition for those in the Midlands and North of England.”

I asked Debra Craine, our reviews editor, to respond: “We can only review shows and concerts as and when they happen, which means that sometimes there appear to be a lot of regional openings and sometimes there appear to be a slew of London ones. But this week, for example, we have reviewed Billy Roche's new play in Dublin, the new opera Skellig in Gateshead, Billy Bragg in Exeter, the comedian John Shuttleworth in Cambridge, the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and a double bill of rare operas in Liverpool. Last week we reviewed the Candoco dance company in Cambridge and an important revival of A Taste of Honey at the Royal Exchange in Manchester, among others.

“As you can see we do strive to cover all the important openings throughout the UK, and there will be plenty of regional Christmas productions coming up in December for you to enjoy reading about. But do let me know if you think there is a big show or event we have missed, and I will see what I can do to rectify the situation.”

Odd odds

The appropriately named (stick with me) Richard Field e-mails from Nottingham: “I am driven to write by two lines in last Saturday's Money supplement: ‘The number of Premium Bond prizes will fall from 1.54 million to 1.1 million - cutting the odds of winning from 24,000-1 to 36,000-1.' ‘The chance of an individual bond winning will increase from 24,000-1 to 36,000-1.'

“So are the bondholder's chances of winning better or worse? Those who bet on the horses will know the difference between odds on and odds against, but I think that some of your writers need to spend a morning at the bookies to get a grasp of this concept.” Certain of my colleagues need very little encouragement to spend a morning at the bookies, Mr Field.

More sails

Last week's complaint from a retired Royal Navy captain that we are ceasing to refer to ships as “she” spurred Maryrose Rintoul to write with delightful news: “Here in East Anglia, windmills are properly referred to as she (though I believe that is dying out too).”

And Paul Bowyer asks: “Could you please tell me who does the excellent paintings that accompany Giles Coren's restaurant pages in the Saturday magazine?” With pleasure: the illustrator is the wonderful Paul Slater, and I've just discovered from Google that he's got an exhibition on right now at the Burton Art Gallery in Bideford, North Devon - but it ends tomorrow. Hurry.