Sir -- We visited friends in Oxford recently and decided to call in to the city centre for some Christmas shopping.

I just had to write to say that we thought your festive illuminations around the city were absolutely wonderful, especially those in Cornmarket.

I am sure the lights put me in the 'Christmas spirit' and we spent longer in the city (and spent more in the shops!) than we had originally intended.

There has been much on the radio and TV recently about the poor quality Christmas lights around the country. Clearly they haven't been to Oxford!

JEFF CLARKE

London