Reading habits in changing times

Sir,- I enjoyed Dave Hannigan’s article on the changing habits of my generation compared with the youth of today, when it comes to sports readership (“Demise of Washington Post’s revered sports section will barely register in the Instagram age”, Sport, February 12th).

His experience resonated strongly with my own: Saturdays meant a trek to Little Bray for the new issue of Roy of the Rovers and Shoot magazine; Sundays brought cuttings of Manchester United match reports from the Tribune and Mirror for my scrapbook.

But most important of all was waiting patiently each evening for my father to arrive home from work with his well-thumbed copies of The Irish Times and the Evening Press. I would start at the back with the sports pages, and amble slowly to the front-page headlines - a habit that has stayed with me since.

The nostalgia in Hannigan’s piece was lovely, but it also served as a timely reminder that it’s not all decline: we are still fortunate to have a present-day journalist of his calibre. I look forward to enjoying more of his fine work. - Yours, etc,