My wife and I are regular visitors to your beautiful islands. One of our favourite places is your Botanical Gardens. Several years ago there was a really excellent gift shop in a large room and one could also have a very nice meal there.

Two years ago we were disappointed to find the large room closed for renovations. A limited choice of gifts was compressed into one small room.

Unless the weather permitted sitting on a small outdoor patio, eating was impossible.

Now, a couple of years later on our present visit we are most disappointed to find that the room is still closed. For us, one of your major attractions is gone.

Certainly it has saved us the hundreds of dollars we would have expected to spend there. And I expect that a great deal more income has been sacrificed by this delay completing the renovations.

DOROTHY AND ERIC LAWSON Bowen Island, British Columbia