Reader Sean Goddard was delighted to see that Worthing Squares dancing group had donated £500 to the children's ward of Worthing Hospital.

But Sean, who describes himself as Brighton's Barn Dance Caller, challenges the report's assertion that square dancing started in 1888, stating its origins actually lie in old England and France.

He explains: "The first description of a dance being performed in square formation (eight people in four couples facing each other) was in the book, The English Dancing Master, by John Playford, published in 1651 in London.

"In the 18th and 19th Centuries dances were developed which were taken across to the US by travellers, soldiers etc and ultimately developed into what is now known as square dancing." Thanks Sean.

Another history lesson from R F Osborne, of Brighton, who says our Village Life supplement last Wednesday incorrectly stated Hurstpierpoint's charter had been granted in 1913 by Edward III.

"He had been dead for 536 years by that time," he says, adding, "Still, in these days of inter-galactic radio signals, moonwalks, cloned sheep etc, a man of my years should not be surprised by anything!"

Peter Shannon, of Rottingdean, spotted in the same supplement that we wrongly stated that Americans had tried to buy St Mary's Church in the village to re-erect in San Fransisco. In fact, the church was St Margaret's. Sorry.

Apologies, too, to officers at Ford Prison who were upset that no mention was made of them in the report in our Worthing edition last Wednesday on the funeral of former firefighter and local councillor Stephen Prior.

Ford's spokesman Mick Kemp tells me Mr Prior was a prison officer there for ten years until his death and his colleagues joined fire service staff at the funeral and parade.

We also messed up a news brief saying the White Gallery in Hove had been chosen to host one of the world's major exhibitions of arts and crafts, Sculpture, Objects and Functional Arts (SOFA).

In fact, the gallery has been chosen to represent Britain at SOFA in Chicago in October, a very big honour for co-founder Tim Owers, who was understandably upset at the error. Sorry and congratulations, Tim.

Our report in the Mid-Sussex edition last Thursday about a planned school for Burgess Hill stated it would "comprise of .."

It should have said either "comprise..." or "consist of..." but we got muddled up, as Maurice Packham, of Horsham, kindly points out.

We have been asked to point out Gursharan Kalsi, of Hove Park School, achieved five A* GCSEs, four As and an A* in religious education, not eight As as we reported last month.

The information was supplied to us by her school but did not include her GCSE art result, which was being regraded, or the RE result, which was not recorded on Government statistics.

Brighton lifeboat crew wish to claim responsibility for rescuing a blow-up doll off Brighton Marina and not Shoreham lifeboat as we stated in Monday's paper. (The doll, I should add, had been reported as a human body in the water).

Still with water, we referred to a "groin" instead of a "groyne" in some edition's of Tuesday's report of a youth in the sea off the Palace Pier trying to avoid capture from the police.

And finally, an anonymous complaint about Bel Bailey's Sussex Recipes in Weekend on August 18: "What an horrific mixture of butter, breadcrumbs soaked in fat and sausage meat (mostly fat again). We should not be bringing up children with such food for them to be ruined for life. When will we ever learn?" Oh dear. Square dance anybody?