SAMUEL Johnson famously wrote: "When a man writes from his own mind, he writes very rapidly. The greatest part of a writer's time is spent in reading, in order to write; a man will turn over half a library to make one book."

Readers unfamiliar with the true, factual story of Commoning in Dean Forest could no doubt believe Roger Horsfield's constant diatribe on the subject and probably think what a godsend he is to us all, while those with at least some level of nous can be excused for thinking his mind is muddled? Perhaps he should research more extensively instead of mouthing from his muddled memory.

Then he might begin to sound more convincing for a change and we might at least get closer to somewhere near the half-truth.

To properly get to the bottom and fully understand the impartial factual status of Commoning (right of pasture) in Dean today requires research and cross-referencing of not just 'half of one library' but several.

One would expect Cyril Hart's contributions to be in most but his is one of several, none of which comprehensively covers every known detail and that is probably why Roger received the response he claims.

– Vurrister.