Cornucopian Carla
From Father David Forrester Sir: I neither know nor have ever met Mrs Odile Taliani, but surely natural justice requires that her acerbic and unkind attack on Lady Powell should not go unanswered (Letters, 28 August).
Whatever Lady Powell's failings — I have considerable knowledge of her over 14 years — they are not those described by Mrs Taliani. Furthermore, I can personally testify to Lady Powell's extreme and unheralded generosity and kindness to those in need; qualities quite the opposite of those dreamt up by Mrs Taliani.
During the six years that I was Catholic Chaplain to Oxford University (1990-1996), I lost count of the occasions when Lady Powell came to the rescue of poor students, who number more than one might imagine at Oxford. Frequently she either filled the boot of my car with food for them, or raided her husband's wardrobe for clothes for them. On one memorable occasion, an impecunious Dutch student encountered Lord Powell at a function while wearing one of his suits, which Lady Powell had given him without her husband knowing. At another time, when it looked likely that a postgraduate student would be unable to complete his studies because of lack of funds, Lady Powell was instrumental in obtaining him a grant.
David Forrester
Woldingham, Surrey
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