Reusable tote bags have been around a lot longer than Anya Hindmarch’s “I am not a plastic bag” one from 2007 (How the ‘forever tote’ became the It bag du jour, 23 January). In the early 1990s (possibly even the 1980s), Friends of the Earth sold canvas tote bags with the message “Say no to plastic bags”. Mine has been used at least once a week since then.
Tony Green
Ipswich, Suffolk
I work in a charity shop. I usually drive the till, and find that being helpful and chatty improves the takings My local bookshop has hit on an incredible business strategy: be nice to customers, 22 January). My colleagues insist on calling me the Babe Magnet, but I had to correct them that, given the age profile of our customers, Granny Charmer would be a more appropriate title.
David Felton
Wistaston, Cheshire
The long read (21 January) is a poignant reminder that the touch of the hand is more than just connecting pen to paper. Following a recent bereavement, the most treasured heirlooms were those that had been touched by the deceased: a mother’s needlework; a father’s letters. Future generations will lose this connection to their past.
Julia Hatto
Betchworth, Surrey
Keir Starmer says he wants to “take the brakes off Britain” (Legal challenges to infrastructure plans to be blocked in Starmer growth push, 23 January). He would do well to remember that brakes are a critical safety mechanism.
Bruce Stenning
Fankerton, Stirlingshire
In my fourth year at Davenant Foundation school in London, my RE report read: “Shows no interest in this subject” (Letters, 27 January). I have been a Church of England minister for 54 years.
Rev Dr Laurie Blaney
Basildon, Essex
