IN response to Derek Reed's letter on the subject of "mis-speaking"(Letters, October 3) a year or two ago I rather incoherently announced that I had to attend an appointment for "eye screening". However, a friend was totally convinced that what I was going on about was "ice creaming"!

Oh, and with reference to Jane Garnett's letter (Letters, October 1) I perhaps wonder if her eight-year-old grandson who reassured his brother that Santa was safe self-isolating at the North Pole could have meant Father Christmas was elf-isolating!

Bernard Ellis,

Gormire Avenue,

Huntington,

York