OKEHAMPTON'S U3A certainly lives up to its claim to help all of us older ones to keep our brains in gear.

The recent political debate and question time was extremely well organised, allowing plenty of time for those on the panel to express their views and for those who wished to ask questions from the floor.

One prospective parliamentary candidate used the word 'apocalyptic' to describe the viewpoint of another member on the panel. I discovered that the word 'apocalyptic' means 'revelatory' or 'prophetic'.

Now, the view expressed in such a fashion included the revelation that according to EU working time directives doctors and firemen will be prevented from working more than 48 hours per week. I suppose that the resulting chaos could be described as a grand event or an apocalypse.

I hope that there will be further opportunities to enter into debate before the next general election. Next time maybe we can hear from all of the candidates for Central Devon.

V A Cushing

Okehampton