Madam, - Presently I will be very upset. Please note I am not upset now. But now, in the present, I am making a plea for presently. From Government Ministers to DJs this splendid word is being misused, every day. Its proper meaning - "in a short while" - is being trampled on as surely as the abused and mistreated apostrophe. Currently I am re-reading The Singapore Grip, a fine novel by the late J.G. Farrell. One of its minor attractions is his frequent correct use of presently.
I shall move on presently to the shameless treatment of gift, which is being employed as a verb (as in "has gifted"). What offence did "give" ever, well, give? - Yours, etc.,
ANGELA LONG, Connaught Place, Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin.