I would not agree with Dawn Wingett that "times have changed" as regards the harsh realities of life (Letters, December 4).

I am 49 and during my schooldays there was an even greater risk of nuclear annihilation; the assassination of John F Kennedy and Martin Luther King; the Ian Brady-Myra Hindley atrocities; and daily television coverage of the horrors of Vietnam and children starving in Nigeria. Believe me, we were only too aware of life's dangers.

However, our English teachers tried to enrich our minds with our wonderful literary heritage.

In contrast, in just how much detail does Mrs Wingett want "perverted goings-on" spelt out to our youngsters? Are books on every deviation necessary?

One lesson her daughter Krystina should learn is that if she is mature enough to write to the Press on controversial subjects, criticism must be taken squarely on the chin.

-William Fraser, Summerheath Road, Hailsham