Letter: Golden girls don't need to glitter

DO ROLE models inspire us ('Do you feel Absolutely Fabulous?', 23 May)? Do they daunt us? Do they spur us to greater efforts? Do they set a good example? If Joanna Lumley is 'encouraging', it is not that (at a certain age) she looks absolutely fabulous, but that, as Claire Rayner says, she's 'intelligent and funny and writes like an angel'. There are other things to her life than looking forward to being a granny - but not because of her glamour. It's despite her glamour, and because of her intelligence and wit, that we suppose there is more to her life than getting a man. And that means there's hope for the rest of us, who have limited resources to devote to our looks and whose lifestyle doesn't leave room for dressing up.

Susannah Finzi

London W5