Word of warming

sir – In his letter (January 21) on the “anti-bucket list”, Peter Davies cautions against any activity whose name includes the word “endurance”.

I am reminded of my first fishing trip to the Arctic. A fellow traveller, with experience of such excursions, said I should examine all my cold-weather base or mid-layer clothing to identify anything with the word “technical” in its description. I should then throw it away and replace it with a merino wool equivalent. It worked, and I’ve never bought an artificial fabric since. Nicholas Franks

Dorchester

sir – On my gravestone it will say: “Never bought a pair of jeans. And never shopped at Ikea.”

I also made a New Year’s resolution some years ago to stop buying from Amazon and instead (where possible) buy local – which I’ve kept.

Ken Hope

Chapel-en-le-frith, Derbyshire