Years ago, I was married to a Hungarian refugee who came over here in 1956 during the uprising in his country. We were married for 21 years, had three daughters and for two summers visited his country for a holiday. The first time we went by car, the second time by air.

On the first occasion we went by car, which incidentally took three days and three nights, we took the wrong turning in Germany and ended up on the Czechoslovakian border, only to be faced with the border guards pointing guns at us.

I was petrified. My husband said not to worry and spoke, obviously in Hungarian, to them. After a lot of talking, it appears that, years ago, he attended school with these men - an amazing story. They put us on the right road and we arrived in Hungary, 12 hours later Budapest and then on to his home town of Ozd for three weeks' holiday.

The country is, as you know now, free. The world can be a very small place.

-Sally Ann Toth, Hove Park Villas, Hove