Beards and no-beards

SIR: The assumption by Roald Dahl and yourself that a beard is a sign of vanity is not always true (The Old Un’s Diary, November issue). As a Naval Reservist I ‘ceased shaving’ some fifty years ago. In that time, by not staring vainly in a mirror for five minutes a day, I have given myself some ten weeks to use more profitably than scraping hairs off my face.

Peter King, Conwy, North Wales.

SIR: Early 1970s. Hitch-hiking from college in Durham. Just south of Red House roundabout three miles from home in Doncaster. Volvo estate pulls in well past me. Horn sounds. I run to the open passenger door. Driver says get in. ‘Sorry I drove so far past you. I just wanted to check you did not have a beard. Anyone who grows a beard cannot like themselves, so why should I like them?’ He didn’t mind my shoulder-length hair, though.

Ian Wilson, Guisborough, Cleveland.