I do so agree with Polly Hudson’s piece about how the bereaved are addressed (My mum has died – and there is one kind of response I can’t stand, 26 August). After my teenage daughter was killed in a road traffic accident and I returned to work people would keep asking: “How are you?”. To which the only response could have been: “If you really want to know have you an hour or two to spare?”
The idea that walking down a corridor en route to the office kettle was the venue for any rational response was plainly idiotic. A more thoughtful colleague suggested that I wore a notice around my neck that read: “Terrible, actually, but thanks for asking.”
