The times they are a-changing

... apologies to Bob Dylan. After being immortalised in an episode of "The Simpsons" the legendary letter-returning skills of former Beatles drummer Ringo Starr are coming to an end. Although it took many many years for Marge Simpson to receive a reply from Ringo , current-day (real) fans may never receive one following the release of an online message from Mr Starr saying he is too busy to sign or read fan mail. Would be interesting to know if fan mail has increased or decreased with the general uptake of the internet.