Red phone boxes (The long read, 28 April) would return your money if the call didn’t get through – but only if you remembered to press button B. One of the delights of childhood was going into a phone box, checking if button B had been pressed after a failed call and collecting the fourpence. Rarely successful, but when it was… Jan Clark Everdon, Northamptonshire I have a deep affection for the red phone box. This is not because it is iconic or that I was a great user, but because my mother used it to help me cope with the devastation of a failed adolescent infatuation. I had, she advised, pressed button B and got my shaken emotions back, but one day I would press button A and my desires and emotions would be rewarded. They were. Michael Scarborough Riddlesden, West Yorkshire Buyers of the Daily Mail at my local supermarket rarely take the copy on top of the pile. They usually select one several copies beneath. I have never observed Guardian buyers do this. What sort of contamination are Mail readers afraid of, I wonder? Geoff Walmsley Wirral, Merseyside Re Jessica Fostekew on questionable compliments (25 April), my mum never criticised what I wore, but I can recall her saying: “You look better in that.” Julie Wilson Northampton The Hollies did produce some “bubblegum pop” (Interview, 3 May), but also made He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother – a magnificent, moving song and probably the only hit to include the word “encumber”. Richard Percy Newburgh, Lancashire Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication.