I FIND it extremely sad that a gentleman of Jim Bowen's standards and talent deems it necessary to resign on such a trivial issue (LET, October 7).

Perhaps we should have our dictionaries trawled to make sure there are no more faux pas in there of an incorrect nature, political or otherwise - that should keep the finger-pointing "nig-nogs" of the world busy for a while.

"Nig-nog," is a play on the word "noggin," meaning a small measure, used largely in ale houses for shorts.

This also was used as a criticism as in "use your noggin," (brain - if you've got one!)

Calling someone a nig-nog is a long standing practice, with no colour connotations. It's been going for longer than political correctness.

Malice is the key word in this issue. Act and punish where there is need. We should all remember this when getting ready to point the political correcting finger.

Malice? Jim Bowen? I don't think so - not at the age of 65!

MRS C PARKINSON, Heys Close, Livesey.