Dear Sir,

The death of Martha Dismont has been very sad indeed. I was lucky to work with her on a Ministry of Education board in 1998 and she quickly became the woman I most respected and admired in Bermuda. We are very much the poorer without her in our lives.

A different loss I would like to mark is the retirement of Chief Justice Narinder Hargun. No, I haven’t forgotten that there was controversy over his appointment a few years ago, but I would like to remind people of something they might have forgotten — shortly after coming to Bermuda in 1980, Mr Justice Hargun joined Bermudian lawyer Alan Dunch in offering a free weekly legal clinic to the public. There was nothing like that before or since, and Mr Dunch and Mr Justice Hargun provided an invaluable service to many people.

With university calling her, I feared that we had lost the delightful book reviews by young Marli Spriggs, but am delighted to be assured that she will continue to write for The Royal Gazette. I am very impressed with her critical writing skills and breadth of reading, and look forward eagerly to her future columns.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to express my feelings towards three very special people.

HELLE PATTERSON

Hamilton Parish