G HAYWARD says (You Say, May 4) that Warndon's Tesco gives pleasure to the patients in Newtown Hospital.

When I was in Powick Hospital over 20 years ago, the WRVS canteen was a real haven from the sometimes chaotic wards. So were the flower-filled grounds and the surrounding countryside.

In many ways, Powick Hospital was a little haven of refuge away from the hurly-burly of modern life. That's what "asylum" means - a place set apart. But I am increasingly glad to be in the "real" world again.

GEORGE COWLEY,

Worcester.