A startling return to imperial measurements

sir – Is the country prepared for the shock of realising the real price of petrol per gallon rather than per litre? Richard Ashworth

London SW6

sir – There can be no objection to using pounds and ounces in a digital age. Digital technology is based on binary (off/on) code and uses hexadecimal notation to form bytes.

Computers, unlike yesterday’s mechanical counting machines, can be programmed to use any number base. Why insist on tens, when we no longer count with our fingers?

David J Critchley

Winslow, Buckinghamshire

sir – Trading standards officers tried to get the courts to accept that the contents of a beer glass (Letters, September 21) should be entirely liquid. This was rejected on two grounds.

First, some beers, such as Guinness, had been heavily advertised as having a large head, so the customer expected one. Secondly, some parts of the country, such as northern England, expected at least a 5 per cent head.

Oversized lined glasses are available – usually 22oz. All Campaign for Real Ale beer festivals use them, often with extra lines for a half and third of a pint.

The court also ruled that if you are served what you consider less than a pint you have the right to request to have it topped up. That, or move south, where the glasses tend to be fuller. Patrick Smith

Great Yarmouth, Norfolk

sir – Oversized lined pint glasses have been tried many times before, and the result is always that the customer gets more than they paid for and the licensee loses most of the net margin on the pint.

British drinkers and bar staff are so used to the brim-full pint that any drink presented with the liquid below the top will be met with: “Fill it up, will you?” Bar staff will often acquiesce, particularly if it’s busy.

It’s a shame as it means we are denied the pleasure of drinking beer with a decent head, as it would be served on the Continent, where the line measure is understood.

Richard Luscombe

Bath, Somerset