Not the fare sex

SIR: As a father of four daughters and the husband of a charming and assertive wife, I must say that I agree wholeheartedly with Matthew Norman (November issue) on the subject of women’s superiority. However, may I add a further criticism – heaven forbid – to that of the late production of the purse in the supermarket queue?

I was sacked, retired or made redundant (still can’t work out which) from the foreign exchange market in my late forties – too old, mental reaction time now too slow. So, after fiddling around for a while, I did The Knowledge for a suburban black taxi licence. My main source of ‘jobs’ was waiting at the local station rank to take people home from work.

Men would always be prepared, often with the precise fare and perhaps a tip, as we arrived at their front door. Women, however, despite doing the exact same journey each evening, would be totally unprepared. A squint at the meter, a prolonged rummage into the handbag and loads of unzipping and poking around in a purse…

I’m not an impatient man but I couldn’t help notice this plain and obvious difference between the sexes.

Women, however, are better tippers. Trevor Drury, London BR1