Striking right pose as stand-in Marlene

Back in the late 1960s, our evening class German teacher told us that in her youth she’d been a classmate of Marlene Dietrich. She’d known the future film star as Marie Magdalene. They had lost touch after Marlene left to study music and subsequently shot to international fame in the film The Blue angel. However, when our teacher heard that the actress was appearing at the Golders Green Hippodrome, she asked one of her pupils at the London school where she taught during the day to deliver a note to Marlene at the theatre recalling their time in the Berlin classroom and wishing her well. Sadly, she didn’t get a reply. Never mind, we said, and the whole class set to and wrote her letters as if from Marlene, saying she was remembered and thanking her for her good wishes. Our teacher was surprised at our letters. She told us she was rather touched and thanked us for writing them. Bob Stephens, Barnet, Herts.