Special ingredient

SIR – Judy Nicholson (Letters, April 21) says one of her colleagues used to stir his tea with an upside-down pencil.

Many years ago, while serving at the Royal Naval Air Station Hal Far in Malta, I was in the habit of having a very long gin and tonic after a hot game of tennis. I would give this a good stir to reduce the fizz and make it more drinkable. While doing this one evening with the pencil used to sign bar chits, the bar steward, a Maltese petty officer, said: “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, sir.”

“Oh,” I replied, “why not?” “Well,” he said, “that is the pencil I clean my ears with.” Patrick Mountain

Somerton, Somerset