29 APRIL 1989, Page 27

'May I obstruct you?'

Sir: J. G. Links (Letters, 15 April) is quite observant about middle-rungers who sur- round themselves with secretaries. It's exasperating here in Hong Kong: not only does one have to go through a string of girls before even getting to the secretary (and invariably punctuated by some ghast- ly ding-dong Tar Elise'), but then one is asked, 'From which company?' I always answer, 'From a bloody good one.' And on a bad day, she retorts, 'And how to spell?' David Tang

Cluff Oil, 112 Jardine House, Central, Hong Kong