Prof Rob Ford seems to have a very dim view of the ability of individuals to remember anything before they were adult if he really thinks that you need to be aged over 60 to have any “meaningful memory” of 1978 (Carrots, sticks and Thatcher replays: what is Sunak’s strikes strategy?, 6 January). I am over 60, but I vividly remember Churchill’s state funeral (when I was not yet six), the moon landing (aged 10), Harold Wilson as the first Labour prime minister in my lifetime (11), Ted Heath and the three-day week, and so on.
Pat Stevenson
Holywell, Northumberland
• Re your report (Public sector strikes row escalates as unions plan coordinated ‘day of action’, 10 January), could we turn this anti-strike legislation on its head and hold the government responsible for the unsafe levels of provision of essential services on “normal”, non-strike days?
Jane Davidson
Edinburgh
• An American scientific colleague has asked if I might explain the difference between a “working royal” and a “non-working” one (Prince Harry says any return to royal fold would be ‘unsurvivable’, 9 January). Can anybody help?
Prof Stephen Holloway
Liverpool
• In your Wordsearch on 15 words associated with royalty (G2, 10 January), I note that, although king and queen are to be found, prince is not. Is this a deliberate omission, given the current climate?
Ros Jones
Ilkley, West Yorkshire
• Very brave of James Cottis to come out as a property developer in Rochford (Let me tell you what it’s like being gay in the straightest town in England and Wales, 9 January).
Peter Cowperthwaite
Southampton
