Sir, - When my regular copy of the D&S arrives each Friday, one of the first articles I read is the Weekend Eating Out feature.

More often than not that is written by Malcolm Warne, and that was certainly so last week when the King's Head Hotel at Richmond came under the spotlight.

As it happened, my wife and I had already made a reservation for Sunday lunch, and from the food aspect I would say that Malcolm Warne got it just about right: "not brilliant, but not a disaster".

However, it was the photograph of the interior accompanying the review which gave us something of a shock. We had visited the King's Head on numerous occasions, and had commented on what a lovely first floor dining room it was in that grand old Georgian building.

Not anymore. Who on earth had the idea of giving it a "modern"

makeover? A lovely room with a real old-style ambience ruined by the introduction of modern furniture, and socalled modern art of the walls.

Surely the innovator, instigator, or whatever of this complete disaster must have seen, on completion, that it looked totally and completely wrong in the building with its fine staircase and striking Market Place facade.

Why oh why, do some deem it necessary to change things. In some places it might possibly work, but not in the context of a dining room like the one in the King's Head.

All right, it did need a little updating, but to remove, at a stroke, pristine white tablecloths, linen napkins etc., has changed an old-style dining room into something akin to numerous trendy eateries which seem to infest every high street.

ARTHUR BARKER Ullathorne Rise, Startforth, Barnard Castle.