In the 1970s, to save money, a London psychiatric hospital replaced soft toilet tissue with Izal medicated toilet roll (Letters, 13 April). Therapists conducting successful sessions for outpatients with compulsive disorders were surprised by a sudden increase in relapse rates, until they realised that each sheet contained the exhortation “Now wash your hands”. Its use was discontinued.
Prof David C Sanders
Mortain, France
• Izal toilet paper made excellent tracing paper, but it also made a superb sound in a comb and paper. One member of a jokey interval band at the original Concorde Jazz Club in Southampton played an Izal bumphone to great effect!
David Witt
Malmesbury, Wiltshire
• It’s not all doom and gloom when products are discontinued. The demise of the News Chronicle in 1960 led our family to a lifelong addiction to the Guardian.
Bob Epton
Brigg, Lincolnshire
• Lovely to see Albie Fiore’s famous clue – “No can do”, with the solution “Bottle party” – recycled, but done the other way round (Cryptic crossword, 14 April). I was at school with Albie in the 60s. As your obituary for him said (18 August 2009), he was an “all-round good bloke”. Thanks for all the crosswords.
Alan O’Gorman
Cheltenham, Gloucestershire
• Pedanticus would not be happy with 13 down (Quick crossword, 11 April). “Practice” in the clue means that the solution should be a noun: “rehearsal”. The solution is actually “rehearse”, a verb, and the clue should have said “Practise”.
Teresa Quayle
Warrington, Cheshire
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