Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (1809-1892) with his wife Emily (1813-1896) and his sons Hallam (1852-1928) and Lionel (1854-1886)

• FURTHER to the enduring legacy of Alfred Lord Tennyson (Wisdom that lingers, Review, August 8), many years ago I had the pleasure of teaching the rudiments of lawn tennis to his great great grandson at the much missed Regent’s Park Golf and Tennis School.

What the late Hallam Tennyson – then a noted BBC producer – lacked in court skills, he certainly made up for on his piquant turn of phrase (inherited from the poet)?

On one occasion, when sadly out of form, he suddenly exclaimed: “My dear boy, I am so sorry. I fear I am playing and prancing around like a demented frog.”

HOWARD RICHARDS
Fitzroy Road, NW1