Reply to a newspaper, declining an interview

Dear Ms —,

Thank you for writing, and for describing your piece accurately, which not everybody does.

You may have: the accounts for any year since 1979, the procedures, the register of houses, the annual returns, the access surveys, and the names and telephone numbers of the ten stewards, who will speak to you without my involvement. You may attend any gathering, unannounced, including the February lecture. You may photograph the buildings.

You may not have a list of members, and I will not pass your request to individuals. If somebody wishes to speak to you they will do it without our help, and several have. We do not tell members not to speak to reporters and we do not ask afterwards what was said.

I will not sit for an interview myself. The reason is not caution: it is that a spokesman produces a piece about a spokesman, and the interesting thing here is a set of buildings and a rota. If that leaves your article without a face, I am afraid that is accurate.

One correction to your outline: we are not a retreat and we do not offer any therapeutic or medical service of any kind. Please do not describe us as either. We have had two people arrive believing otherwise and it was distressing for them.

— the correspondent