1 JUNE 1996, Page 27

Sad, drunk and balletic

Sir: Richard Beeston (Letters, 18 May) has missed the point of Robin Gedye's nice piece about expelled correspondents. The Soviet culling of 1985 fractured many lives — including that of the 'sad creature' referred to in the article. Robin Gedye was merely expressing solidarity with journalist colleagues who are all too easily branded spies by numskulled governments.

Many of us knew the unfortunate free- lance thrown out on that occasion. As I recall, most of his stories, and the bulk of his contacts, were centred on the Bolshoi ballet. To describe him as sad and as a drunk seems to me entirely fair and has no bearing on his writing skills.

Roger Boyes

Wurzerstrasse 187, Bonn, Germany