terry was keen to help and gave much thought and time to the exercise. He enjoyed the company of his young nieces and nephews and thus was able to relate easily to young children. He suggested, as it was now close to Christmas, that he would like to enclose a present for each of them with the letter, if Mr Johnson agreed. Mr Johnson was pleased by the offer but insisted that any present should be of small financial value. During two sessions the mediator watched terry compose and write a letter so that she would be able to guarantee to Mr Johnson that the letter was entirely his own work. terry then went shopping with his girlfriend for age-appropriate gifts. the mediator collected the Christmas parcel and delivered it to Mr Johnson. on the final visit to him in January she discovered that he had read the letter to his children on Christmas Day and their reactions to it were splendid; they no longer felt he was a 'nasty man' and their fear had dissipated. the letter had been a complete success and the children had been delighted with their gifts.