Just mailed to Fiat and the Notional Trust:

I am angry and disappointed to see that the National Trust have, once again, allowed themselves to be persuaded to allow access to their land in order for an advertising agency to vandalise (or should I say "brandalise") a chalk hill-figure, namely the Cherhill White Horse in Wiltshire.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wiltshire/3403247.stm

After the controversy over the use of the Uffington White Horse to advertise the latest series of Big Brother, you would have thought that the National Trust would have learnt their lesson.

While I would expect nothing else of an advertising agency, whose only job is to generate publicity by any means necesssary, both the National Trust and Fiat should consider very carefully whether or not this kind of behaviour is worth the negative reactions it can cause.

While I am delighted to see that the offending black coverings have been removed, I will still now reconsider my recent decision to join the National Trust after all, sufficient time having passed after the Uffington Fiasco, and will advise those I know to cancel their memberships.

The National Trust might like to recall the number of cancelled memberships they received after Uffington, which presumably reduced the benefit they received from the £2000 paid to them in order to allow the brandalism to take place.

This is NOT an acceptable way to raise money. By cheapening our national heritage in this way you effectively begin its downgrading from such status.

Fiat, obviously, cannot expect my custom anytime soon.

(Name and Address supplied)