Sir.-I was saddened to read in last week's Gazette that strip shows were taking place at the Falcon Inn, Burghfield Road, Tadley, on certain Sunday afternoons.

This very inn holds so many happy memories for my family. It was the birthplace of my younger sister and myself, as our late parents were the licensees there in the 1930s.

In 1968, I returned home, and my husband and myself became the tenant licensees.

We left the Falcon in 1984. It had been hard work but rewarding.

Twenty years later, how things have changed.

While we were the licensees we would have not had to black out the bar windows and employ door staff on pleasant summer afternoons.

Families would be enjoying sitting in an award-winning garden enjoying the fragrant flowers, and their children playing on all the garden amenities provided.

Inside, in the two bars, darts or bar billiards could be played, or folk could just enjoy meeting one another, have a meal, or relax in a real pub atmosphere.

We met so many lovely people in our time at the Falcon. I feel it's a shame that this pub seems to have lost its family atmosphere.

I guess it's up to the individual, as West Berkshire Council has given a seal of approval to let these strip shows continue. However, for me, it's so sad.

-M Sparkes, Millers Road, Tadley.