Like strawberries and cream, croquet on the lawn and hot buttered crumpets, Noel Coward was quintessentially English - a picture of sophistication and elegance from head to toe.

Everyone was therefore taken by complete surprise when, in 1966, in the twilight of his long and glittering career, Coward received an invitation to sing, in cabaret, his best-loved songs at the Desert Inn, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Author, actor, singer and composer of so many songs that are now part of our folklore, Coward was the very antithesis of anything that was not English to the backbone.

He could hardly decline the offer as it was a compliment of the highest order to be asked to sing at the Mecca of US entertainment, normally reserved for such home-grown legends as Sinatra and Tony Bennett. Besides this, there were many noughts in the fee on offer.

Coward's reception was rapturous, the audience mesmerised by the master's presence in their midst. From A Room With A View through to Mad Dogs And Englishmen and I'll See You Again, Noel sang all his great songs.

In perhaps the most famous of them all, Coward advises Mrs Worthington not to put her daughter on the stage.

How very fortunate no one gave Mrs Coward such advice when Noel announced his intention to tread the boards.

-Michael Parker, Lewes Road, Brighton