Practical hats
Sir: It is obvious that Alice Thomas Ellis (Home life, 13 December) has never been to Australia or she would realise that the small number of people who wear hats here do so for a very practical reason and not because they are self-consciously pleased with themselves. The reason being to shade one's face from the harsh Austra- lian sun and thus try and minimise the risk of skin cancer, which kills about a thousand Australians every year. The number of people here who suffer from skin cancer is going up every year, mainly because most people are too self-conscious to wear a hat when out in the sun.
Of course up until the early 1960s most people here wouldn't have gone out with- out a hat on, and one with a wide brim at that, but then the young people started following European fashion trends, and this meant no hats.
I long for the day when the majority of people again wear hats here, so I don't feel self-conscious when wearing mine, and as a hat shop recently opened in Adelaide (there hasn't been one from 1964 until now) perhaps that day isn't far off.
So now you know why Peter Wright wears a hat.
Raymond Parkin 13 Longleat Road, Elisabeth Vale, South Australia
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