I KNOW the point of columnists in your newspaper is to make people react and I don't usually do so, this time I must.

Mrs Mathias' rant about Jerry Springer the Opera was a tissue of prejudices, half truths and philistine hatred of the Arts.

Firstly, I can't imagine the kind of sad person that counts the amount of swear words in a TV broadcast, so I can't say how many were used, however I don't think more than ten different ones were. I do not suppose anyone knows 8,000 swear words.

Why should the BBC take off a TV programme because 5,000 people who have not seen it take part in an organised complain-in? I could set up an organisation of concrete lovers and bombard the BBC with thousands of demands to scrap Gardeners World and, very sensibly they would ignore it, just as they very sensibly ignored rent-a-protest on Saturday.

On Saturday, we went to see a lovely recital at Bath Road Methodist Church.

This was a well planned and beautifully executed performance by a local, second year, singing student.

It ended in time for us to go home and see Jerry Springer the Opera, both were good and very, very different.

We had a very pleasant evening.

It is a pity that Mrs Mathias didn't go to the recital and write about it instead of sitting at home counting swear words.

STEVE THOMPSON

Norman Road