27 MARCH 1993, Page 26

Sir: Petronella Wyatt's stellar excursion reminded me of my brief

astrological career, writing 'telephone horoscopes'. The work load was daunting — seven days and 12 star signs meant 84 scripts a week. How- ever, modern technology came to the res- cue and I put the 'Search & Replace' fea- ture of my word processor to good use. After some judicious editing to make sure that `Geminis" fate was suitably ambiguous and 'Cancers' '— sorry `Moon-Children's' — not too adventurous, and with a nod to the changing position of the planets, I found that last week's Pisces worked per- fectly well as next week's Aquarius etc. It's not quite so easy in print, but if you look hard you can detect recycling. Long before I was able to retire to bougainvillaea land I was replaced by someone who saw the future with equal clarity but at a cheaper rate.

Christopher Egerton-Thomas

45 West 74th Street, New York, NY 10023, USA