Earl pinched Mum's bum
SIR: My mother, for one, was delighted that Gareth Neame chose Highclere Castle as the location for Downton Abbey (September issue). She was a teacher during the war, and her entire school was evacuated to Highclere.
The awestruck reaction of a bunch of Willesden five-year-olds may be imagined. Naturally they were kept apart from the quality, but she often reminisced about the time she was granted the singular honour of having her bottom pinched by the then Earl of Carnarvon, or Porchy, as she fondly called him.
Mike Petty, Murwillumbah, New South Wales
Shy Gyles Brandreth
SIR: The death of Jane Birkin was a devastating blow to my generation. Many of us listened to her and Serge going through their paces in Je t'aime under the bedclothes at school.
There was another grave shock - to read that your columnist Gyles Brandreth never met her. You need to inspect his contract. He is slipping.
Hugo Vickers, London W8
Phantoms of the opera
SIR: What has your music reviewer got against theatrical designers (Music, August
