Mr Pitt seems to think he is the only one out there with a sense of humour. While he refers to me as a slow reader and suggests I should be capable of recognising irony and Parkinson's Law, I would counter with the comment that a man of his years should be capable of recognising sarcasm and the now infamous "Archie Syndrome".

The syndrome is the inability to resist replying to a letter, however banal it may be and however obvious the response, without nit-picking to the nth degree to try to elicit maximum response. Can't think how it got its name.

PEPYS