Reasons to be cheerful

sir – I have just received a chatty handwritten letter from my 12-yearold granddaughter – in a properly addressed envelope with a stamp on it.

It is beyond rubies and I couldn’t be more thrilled. Talk about silver linings.

Jennifer Reynolds

Okehampton, Devon

sir – For more than a decade I have walked about an hour daily to collect my Daily Telegraph.

En route, I usually pick up and bin Mcdonald’s litter thrown from car windows. Recently, however, I have not had to do this. What a pleasure.

Ron Lightbown

Derby

sir – For those seeking new ways to fill their days while self-isolating, I suggest online genealogy. I signed up to a well-known website a few years ago, but had not used it until recently. Now I have plenty of time to chase the more obscure members of our family.

However, be warned: it is easy to be diverted investigating strange job titles. One of my ancestors was a coal trimmer at Cardiff docks, which involved working in the holds of the ships, shovelling the loose coal as it poured in so as to maintain the stability of the vessels. Not the healthiest of jobs, I should imagine.

Ann Runacres

Ullenhall, Warwickshire

sir – Having missed the last BA flight home before the lockdown in South Africa was enforced, my wife and I find ourselves in a foreign country far away from friends and family.

One of the few consolations is my daily online edition of the Telegraph.

I leave it downloading while brewing the first cup of the day and then spend the morning reading it from cover to cover. With our daily news update, we are not alone.

Tim Bidlake-corser

Simon’s Town, Western Cape South Africa