It was with interest that I read Beaters thoughts from the Beating Hut (ST 27/12/07) regarding children in the beating line. Well, of course, under a certain age, experience is no help and they are worth only half of the adult but must be encouraged and therefore should receive three parts! It is no big deal for a youngster to be given fifteen pounds, nobody can buy much with that these days. I remember getting a ten shilling note and a half-pint bottle of pale ale forty-odd years ago, so tot up the inflation, Beater, and see that nothing much has changed for the better. It is those dedicated mature beaters who, with an eye over their shoulder for the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Customs, Excise and Inland Revenue lot, demand only what is really nothing more than token payment in acceptance of the deal. Just recently I was present when a Gun turned up sporting his new Audi R8, that car could easily represent just six months of a bonus earned in the City I don’t know but I’m sure Beater would like to hear his view too.