When actions speak louder than words | Brief letters

Male bonds | Northern exposure | Lofty goals | Small talkGaby Hinsliff’s column on male bonds struck a chord (Male bonds develop one way, female friendships another. Should we stop trying to make men more like women?, 6 January). Despite essentially no interactions since we moved in 2021, working with my retired (male) neighbour to remove a shared overgrown ivy one afternoon last summer led to me knowing his grandchildren by name and we now say hello in the village. Occasionally he even stops for a chat. But that’s enough about that. Nick Jolliffe Boston Spa, West Yorkshire• Re Isabella Stone’s letter (8 January) pointing out that Ashbourne is not in “the north of England”, when I met my husband, who comes from Ramsgate, he believed the north began at the Elephant and Castle. I come from Birmingham, which is in the West Midlands – not in the north, as his family insisted it was. Jane Gregory Emsworth, Hampshire Continue reading...