When actions speak louder than words | Brief letters
<p>Male bonds | Northern exposure | Lofty goals | Small talk</p><p>Gaby Hinsliff’s column on male bonds struck a chord (<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jan/06/men-women-friendship-silent-masculine-trains-golf-drink">Male bonds develop one way, female friendships another. Should we stop trying to make men more like women?, 6 January</a>). Despite essentially no interactions since we moved in 2021, working with my retired (male) neighbour to remove a shared overgrown ivy one afternoon last summer led to me knowing his grandchildren by name and we now say hello in the village. Occasionally he even stops for a chat. But that’s enough about that. <br /><strong>Nick Jolliffe </strong><br /><em>Boston Spa, West Yorkshire</em></p><p>• Re Isabella Stone’s letter (<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/jan/08/a-rare-joy-at-police-station-in-huyton">8 January</a>) pointing out that Ashbourne is not in “the north of England”, when I met my husband, who comes from Ramsgate, he believed the north began at the Elephant and Castle. I come from Birmingham, which is in the West Midlands – not in the north, as his family insisted it was. <br /><strong>Jane Gregory </strong><br /><em>Emsworth, Hampshire</em></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/jan/09/when-actions-speak-louder-than-words">Continue reading...</a>
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