I was saddened to read of the death of the great wit, actor and ranconteur Peter Ustinov.

I always smile when I remember his many anecdotes but my favourite is: "The point of living and of being an optimist is to be foolish enough to believe the best is yet to come."

We also said farewell to the great broadcaster Alistair Cooke - his Letter From America programme was always delivered with a wonderful tone of voice.

Actor and composer Hubert Gregg will also be greatly missed. His passing last week brought memories of three decades of his Thanks For The Memory programme of nostalgic music which became something of an institution on Radio 2.

Hubert Gregg wrote the song Maybe Its Because I'm A Londoner in World War Two, as he recalled, in 20 minutes. As a south Londoner, I have lost count of the number of times I have heard this song sung through the years - a fitting epitaph.

Three bright lights have gone from the world but will long be remembered for the laughter, joy and entertainment they gave us.

-Joy Linford, Hove