PETER JEFFERIES recently wrote to HAS commenting that I was in danger of living in the past.

He mentioned a letter I sent (HAS, May 23) where I questioned whether EU bureaucrats should, in light of the euro zone financial crisis, be concerned by the minutiae of how olive oil is supplied to restaurants.

Quite how Mr Jefferies connected my concern for the finances of olive oil producing countries with a predilection for living in the past mystified me.

I was therefore gratified to read that, in the face of much criticism and ridicule from consumers and restaurateurs, the European commission has abandoned its proposed ban on restaurants giving customers olive oil in refillable containers.

This announcement came barely six days after the proposed ban was announced and reassures me that, despite Mr Jefferies’ opinion that I live a world long since past, I do have my finger firmly on the pulse of current affairs.

VJ Connor, Bishop Auckland