Confessions of a bar-stool athlete

Jeffrey Bernard in 1993. ‘It was as though Jeffrey Bernard had briefly risen for “just the one”.’ Photograph: Jane Bown

Barry Glendenning’s column was heartfelt and very entertaining (How hard can it be to run 13 miles? With help from the pub, park and peas I am finding out, 17 January). As a fellow bar-stool athlete, I could almost smell the tobacco smoke from years past when studying form in the Coach and Horses. Indeed, it was as though Jeffrey Bernard had briefly risen for “just the one”.
Max Tannahill
Wivenhoe, Essex

• “Nobody has enjoyed a night at the Premier Inn Milton Keynes more than we have,” says Beth, 75 (This is how we do it, 18 January). I have tried to reserve a double room for me and my wife, at the Premier Inn in Milton Keynes, only to find that it’s fully booked for the foreseeable...
Bren Pointer
London