28 AUGUST 1982, Page 17

Don't ask a policeman

Sir: Simon Courtauld's item on Marie Lloyd and 'If you want to know the time ... ' (Notebook, 14 August) sprang to mind when I was covering the High Court case concerning Sean Geraghty.

During the long wait on the crowded pavement outside the court (waiting for the case to finish) I was chatting to the policemen who were on crowd control duty. Could one of them tell me the time? No, he said, 'We're not allowed to wear watches on demonstrations.' And where do they leave them? 'We lock them up in the police 'station.' It strikes me they must have quite a collection.

Barbara Bloomfield

Independent Radio News, Communications House, Gough Square, London EC4