19 AUGUST 2000, Page 27

Club rules

From Mr E.G. Wells Sir: Leo Cooper (Letters, 5 August) is mis- taken in confining membership of the Royal Automobile Club to proles. The RAC is flourishing because many VIPs can afford more than one club. In the public mind, particular members are, often arbi- trarily, held typical of their clubs. The Trav- ellers (John Buchan), Whites (Evelyn Waugh), Brooks's (Alan Clark), Boodle's (Ian Fleming), Athenaeum (Cardinal Man- ning), Savile (Sir Ralph Richardson) and, sadly, the Garrick (Sir Robin Day).

E.G. Wells

West Chiltington, West Sussex