And now, the kids

Sir,
W.B., like so many English people, seems to have his priorities wrong. He feels for the imagined suffering of two well-fed, well-cared-for lion cubs on the BMW stand, animals which, incidentally, were removed from the “smoke-filled hubbub of a Motor Show” at regular intervals for their comfort and convenience, yet he overlooks the prolonged plight of thousands of very young children trailed around in even worse crowded and unhygienic conditions every day the Show is open. Perhaps it is because of his attitude and that of millions like him that the excellent RSPCA has Royal patronage, while the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children lacks that equally merited recognition.

As for the girls and gimmicks which W.B. also would have us believe he deplores, the fact is that they are there simply to attract widespread press coverage. Without them, even the best designed and worthwhile mechanical exhibits wouldn’t get a look in. For example, how many press photographers visit the accessory and other stands in the gallery, which don’t have such a handsome quota of girls?

I am quite confident that Mr. Playfoot would, like all good PR men, prefer to rely on his products to attract their own share of attention—after all, he has one of the most impressive exhibits at the Show.

Anthony Cavacuiti.
Slough, Bucks.

[The only reason I do not think my priorities are wrong is because children can complain when they suffer, or can be seen to be suffering, so that something can, and often is, done about it—animals too often suffer in silence. As for kids at the Motor Show, any over the age of five might, as I was, be wildly happy in close proximity to motor cars. But generally the NSPCC should take precedence over the RSPCA, so we gladly publicise Mr. Cavacuiti’s views. His final point is valid but do people really place orders for BMWs and TVRs because lots of pictures of these cars with nudes atop them appear in the gutter-press or because intelligent people know them to be good, interesting or unusual cars? Girls are great and an undressed girl better than a fully-clad one in appropriate circumstances—but a Motor Show used not to be one of them.—Ed.]