15 NOVEMBER 2003, Page 41

All disoriented

From Ray Hartley Sir: In Matthew Parris's article on his visit to South Africa (Another voice, 1 November), he observes that 'between dawn and dusk a fierce sun travelled (for us Europeans) the wrong way — from right to left — across a hot and cloudless sky'. This is a curious statement given that if you are facing north, the sun will always travel from right to left, i.e., from east to west. This applies to all continents and to all hemispheres, although you could have an interesting debate about what happens when you are at the poles.

Ray Hartley

Johannesburg, South Africa