Save the greeting kiss for your closest friends
sir – The obligatory greeting kiss (People Watching, June 30) has vexed me for years and in vain I set out to abolish it, hoping that the ripple effect from my home town of Wooler would spread nationwide.
My aim was to replace the meaningless pecks on the cheek with whatever greeting one thought fit to bestow. For example, a really good friend would receive a long hug and a kiss to finish off; an ordinary friend a single kiss on the cheek, or a cheery wave or blown kiss. Someone you have only met once before would receive a warm handshake, while a first-time meeting merits a brisk handshake for both hello and goodbye.
Surely the pecks are not so entrenched that we cannot be rid of them?
Lucinda Blackett
Wooler, Northumberland