Your excellent photograph of the late Queen’s visit to York in 1949 brought memories back.

Aged thirteen, I was in York for the first time that day, on a day trip with my mother.

Neither of us had any idea that anything special was happening. Seeing a crowd in what I now know as St Helen’s Square, we joined it and were shortly rewarded with a close-up view of Princess Elizabeth. It made my mother’s day.

Little did I know that I would spend my adult life in York, and see her several times more in the city.

All my life she has been a still point, a comforting ten years ahead of me, a calm and stable presence. Those few like me who were born in the reign of Edward VIII, which started and finished in 1936, have cause to be doubly grateful - that his reign was so short, and that hers was so long.

Peter Hollindale, Grange Garth, York

Time to stop clapping

I have been watching the funeral arrangements of our late, dearly departed Queen. I am not a real monarchist but her sad passing represents a major milestone. I am, however, confused by one aspect: the trend for onlookers to clap the departed.

Please respect in thoughtful silence.

Neil Raw, Oriel Grove, York