15 MARCH 1997, Page 28

Forbes wha ha'

Sir: Your correspondents prove odder and odder. How can a man whose names are Alastair and Forbes write (Letters, 1 March) 'I am neither Scottish.... Alas- tair is the Scottish form of the Greek name. Alexander; perhaps he is a cousin of Talc. Forbes is from Forbes in Aberdeenshire, (13th century). In Gaelic it means an ambush. Let us watch out.

H.W.L. Hartley

Rose Cottage, Trenarren, St Austell, Cornwall