Magic words

SIR – I once heard a retired English major ask a small American boy on handing him a fizzy drink at his Sunday lunch party: “What do you say?” (Letters, October 23).

The boy answered, as if by rote: “Gee! I’m a clever kid.”

I felt relieved that I had brought my two sons home to Britain from New York in time to learn manners. Suzannah Edwards-jones

Norwell, Nottinghamshire

SIR – I was hosting a barbecue at RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus some years ago. One family preparing to depart asked their usually troublesome, but on this occasion well-behaved, son: “What do you say to Mr and Mrs Riley?”.

The lad thought for a while, then offered: “Sorry?”

Squadron Leader Jerry Riley

South Queensferry, West Lothian