Not what it said on the tin

SIR: The delightful Kiwi shoe polish tin (Small Delights, June issue) saved my marriage. We were honeymooning in September 1970 with a very hirsute friend and his girlfriend (for reasons of economy).

Our trip followed the Hendrix gig at the Isle of Wight Festival and, predictably, we were stopped at the Spanish border in my overloaded Austin A40 Farina. The perfect seal on the Kiwi tin prevented even Franco’s border sniffer dogs from detecting my friend’s stash in his tin, decorated in garish 1960s dayglo colours.

‘Smoke it or bury it’ was my wife’s demand once we cleared the border. He smoked it and it probably helped to save his life, as he developed acute appendicitis as we began the journey back. Uninsured, we struggled home and his appendix perforated ‘on the table’ on the night of our arrival.

We are still married 48 years on – but some honeymoon! Terry Gashe, Wantage, Oxfordshire