11 OCTOBER 2003, Page 40

From Francis Bennion Sir: Anthony Lipmann's mention of his Charterhouse

headmaster the late Oliver Van Oss reminded me of the time when, during a stay at the nearby Enton Hall hydro, I called on Van Oss. In the middle of a conversation about his teachers and their problems he suddenly said, out of the blue, 'I don't mind a homosexual as long as he's not passionate.'

I don't know quite why he said that.

Francis Bennion

Budleigh Salterton, Devon