I WAS sorry to hear of Jane Reeve’s friend’s experience of over-familiar and patronising staff in an Oxford store.

A couple of weeks ago, while I was choosing an item from a stall in the open market, it was all “yes, sir”, “sorry, sir”, “£5.99, sir”. When I was handed the change, though, the accompanying remark was “thank you, darling”.

I made light of this by ironically repeating it, but a recently arrived lady customer turned round to me and exclaimed: “He’s a man too!”, indicating the stallholder. Perhaps she was new to Oxford.

LEO BAFFI Marston Road Oxford