Sir, - How sad Oliver McGrane should so deplore the wonderful Spanish youngsters who brighten and enliven our towns and cities for being fuerte. One might as well wish away the dawn chorus of spring, or the frantic bird-song of summer.
This evening their marvellous syncopated flamenco style hand-clapping on a street corner in town brought a taste of the sunshine, life and energy of their culture and homeland. Besides, their language allows little elision, so their speech must be fast and furious.
Too soon they will abandon these shores for the warm south, along with the songbirds. We can then slough comfortably into the mire of yet another grey, monotone and miserable November.
These visitors are as welcome among us as the roses of the summer, and their season is brief. But winter is long. - Yours, etc., John Brett,
Lisnarea, Dundalk, Co Louth.