Weighty watch

sir – I hadn’t noticed the Princess Royal wearing her late father’s watch (Letters, September 11), but I agree it is a special and meaningful thing to do.

I inherited my uncle’s pocket watch, which had been a 21st-birthday present to him in 1924. How can a female wear such an item? It is too heavy to be a pendant, and I never seem to have pockets in the right places.

P J Mills

Dursley, Gloucestershire

sir – One of my favourite garden tools is a border fork that belonged to my grandmother. It is about 100 years old.

After her death in 1978, my mother used it until her death in 2011. I now use it a lot and its prongs are still lethally sharp.

I also have my late father’s pickaxe. Neighbours must wonder when my husband and I say that we need to get Granny or Dad out of the garage. Janette Weekes

Kilsby, Northamptonshire