SIR,—I agree with all that Katharine Whitehorn says about banks,
except her objection to the listing of cheques by numbers on the statement. After thirty years under this system, I lately changed my bank to one which lists them by the payee's name, with a date which is not that on the cheque, but presumably that of payment. My handwriting is clear (my form- master once described my Latin paper as 'beautifully- written nonsense') but my 'Smith' becomes atsti on the statement; 'Postmaster-General' becomes MPG, Sometimes the puzzle is too easy to be fun: I know I buy my drawing materials from VEWTON and my books from FOYES, belong to the RCHTITECURAL ASS, pay country gas bills to SOUTHGAX, town electricity bills to LEG and taxes to INLAN ERV. I have got used to wRiGru. KACKSON and WLLDEN (Willder) because they seldom vary, and to AM. CII, ASH, HS, CAS, CSH and CADH, all of which mean 'Cash.' Pscrr is clearly a payment in by post, and REV ON CHAS of course means a new cheque book. It is more difficult to recognise DORIDGE, DONJE, DARINDE and IDGE as being the same person, and it is only the amount on the cheque that enables me to identify itunaliNs,
SEBOAR, SLES LTD., SAKES AND ALWY, EL AND HIE
(Hankins, Southern Electricity Board, Stiles Ltd., Seares and Bailey, Eland Hore and Co.). GALNILES and GALNNEIES are Glanvilles. I have located the unknown benefactors ALBERTY. AtBERTON, ALBERTONL and A ERFOED who have been paying money in to my account: these all mean the Alresford branch.
(jive me the cheque numbers every time. And what
I want to know is: if a machine can enter MISTYR Op EDUCS FON for Ministry of Education, why should it not enter £27 14s. lid, for £1 5s 9d.? Only the thought that this could work either way keeps me quiet.
LAWRENCE WRIGHT
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