29 AUGUST 1998, page 23

Italian Ice

Sir: In his letter of 22 August, Gordon Richdale complains of the coldness shown towards him by Vittorio and Bruno Mus- solini when he met them at Christmas 1936. Surely it was......

Vital Statistics

Sir: Michael Scott's claim (Arts, 8 August) that he was the first to quote Maria Callas's birth date accurately is nonsense, and, as `the New York friend' who looked up her......

Gilt Complex

Sir: Edward Heathcoat Amory's dismissal of gold (`The Gold Rush in reverse', 22 August) is a trifle abrupt; an obituary is not in order, rather an understanding of its......

Early Contacts

Sir: I am perplexed by your second leader of 22 August, asserting that the first contact lenses were produced in 1961. In 1959, my family's local optician in Yorkshire......

Letters Light At Last

Sir: I am sorry that Chapman Pincher feels `blackguarded' at my suggestion that he searched the flower bowls at the Ecu de France for bugs pugs in the banquette', 22 August). As......