I and my husband have been joking since 1979 that we had a “sten party”, meaning we did not have hen or stag parties but went out to the pub together with a few friends the night before our wedding. I did not realise that the term had gone mainstream till I read your article (Nine ways to cut the cost of hen or stag dos and still have a ball, 13 May). Were we trendsetters?
Jane Lowe
Monton, Greater Manchester
• Instead of spending “a week doing some care work shifts” to find out whether this work is “low-skilled” or not (Letters, 15 May), Yvette Cooper could just consult her husband, Ed Balls, who spent a couple of weeks in a care home doing just that for a BBC Two documentary a few years ago.
Marie Paterson
Nuneaton, Warwickshire
