Sir.-I was most surprised to see the photograph of the Oakridge Singers Ladies Choir in the Memories article "In praise of the Haymarket" by Robert Brown (Gazette, November 16).

I wish to point out that this group of ladies were the founding members of the present Basingstoke Ladies Choir.

The change of name came about through the choir attracting many singers from Basingstoke and the surrounding district, and we are pleased that this still continues.

However, while the choir are happy to support all requests for charity concerts, on occasion they like to perform with other choirs or personalities, and obviously the Haymarket Theatre is the place for this.

Unfortunately, while the theatre's future is under review, we are left without a venue to present our shows, as The Anvil is far too expensive to hire.

In the reported interview with Christine Bradwell, no mention was made of the exorbitant fees that The Anvil charges. If this concert hall was built originally for the people of Basingstoke, perhaps some thought could be given for a lower rate for amateur groups.

We would love to stage a show in The Anvil but could not consider financially ruining ourselves.

-Jean Kennedy,
public relations officer,
Basingstoke Ladies Choir.