The minor, but long-awaited, heart operation I was due to have on Monday has been postponed until November. I can cope but many others waiting in pain for surgery will find it hard to do so and NHS waiting lists will get longer. The Queen lived a long, healthy life, thanks to good genes, but also because of the prompt medical care she received. You don’t have to wait weeks to see a doctor or have procedures canceled at short notice. Barbara Richardson London
Many commercial spaces have signs acknowledging that we are in public mourning. This brought back memories of being in Strasbourg during the mourning period for Charles de Gaulle in November 1970. Most of the shop windows were empty except for a picture of the late general surrounded in black. Dudley Coates Gillingham, Kent
When I was a pupil at a secondary school in Derby, I declined the headmaster’s invitation to pitch in the street when the then Princess Elizabeth visited. The result was a reservation and a five mile walk home as the last bus had left. Then Republican, now Republican. Denis Ruston Ashby-de-la-Zoot, Leicestershire
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