Nero

What about one of the buses that are used on the 42 route? They are larger than the type that run the P13/484 routes but not as big as a double-decker.

People who use Americanisms to sound cool, like 'gotten' rather than 'got', or 'cell' instead of 'mobile'. It is sub-Nathan Barley. Other than that, nothing annoys me. I am a floating ball of serenity.

It is all very well lamenting and writing to our MPs, but the only way to bring about fewer driver, passenger and pedestrian deaths and injuries is for everyone to slow down and pay more attention. Humps, filters, police cameras will go so far, but all they do anyway is try to encourage people to drive more slowly and more carefully. It will be impossible to prevent every accident, however.

Whining on a web page won't do anything! Pick up the phone to the council, write an email or WHATVR.

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Retreating embers, absent apostrophes, wayward full stops and elbowing-in hyphens. I'm weeping, R Deep.

caffeine

Over ice is good, I hear. I will report back once I've opened up the sloe vodka in a few weeks' time. Also, is there anywhere you can pick sloes near to SE22?

I have one and I like it and them in general. Mine is more Magnum than most, but at least it's not Greavesey-esque. Best tashes, in my book, are those of Paul Rutherford, Lord Kitchener, Jude Law in his new film, and Fred Schneider circa 78.

I picked a few pounds of sloes in Lincolnshire in late October and have made a litre's worth of sloe vodka and a litre's worth of sloe gin. The vodka has been maturing for about three months, the gin only about a month. How long should I leave them? Is three-four months enough for the vodka? Also, I am thinking of using the leftover sloes in a fruit cake or perhaps mixed in with some apples in a crumble or even on their own with some custard or meringues. Anyone with sloe experience?

As I was saying, CPR is not some Dirty Back Road (KidKruger!) It's got a lot of people on it and it's generally well kept with hardly any derelict or shabby premises. If the noise from the gang is persistent, I'd definitely inform the local PSOs.

It's a very long road with lots of people living on it. I doubt that it's 'going bad' simply because there have been burglarie s, a bit of bike damage and a party out of bounds. (10 points to the person who gets that ref.)

I suppose it depends on how well your home is insulated. Have you got draught-proofing, boiler-lagging, roof insulation and the like? My central heating is on from about 6 till 10 at night, but most of the rads are not on high and thermostat is never over 20C and it's warm (even when it is set at about 17C). I do wear a cardigan or jumper in the house, and socks. I'd bleed your rads regularly, too.

Barry, Can you look into squiggles's concern (see below). If this is happening across your network, and across London, thousands of pounds are being taken by mistake from Oyster cards. Please let us know what the people in charge are doing to make sure the time is set at the correct time. Thanks. Watch the off peak fares as well. I just missed the 18.58 the other night, bot I remembered not to swipe through the gates at London Bridge until after 1900, so as to get the off peak fare. In fact I waited until the big clock at LB said 19.01, and then got the 1908. But I have just checked my Oyster journey record and it said I went through at 1859 so charged me the peak fare. Only 40p I know, but very annoying given that I was so pleased myself for remembering to wait!!

It isn't a personal point of view. This man was speaking in an official capacity.

The issue of liability if somebody were to slip on a pavement that you have cleared is nothing to do with Health and Safety Law. Your newspaper reviewer (on 5 Live) has either misunderstood or misquoted the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health. For many decades it has been a matter of common law negligence, established by the courts, that snow on the ground is a natural peril whereas a badly cleared pavement is the fault of the person who failed to clear it properly - hence they can be sued for negligence. It is very difficult to clear snow effectively unless you have adequate salt and equipment. A badly cleared pavement is more slippery than one with snow on it. Therefore the advice not to attempt to clear it is both sensible and practical as well as being a matter of avoiding liability. It is neither funny nor clever to keep criticising H&S which prevents many workplace accidents and deaths - this country is one of the very safest in the world. Regards, William Jackson Senior Health and Safety Consultant Chartered Member of The Institution of Occupational Safety and Health

I think that the arrival of Sainsbury's is a good thing. It can't be worse than a seemingly never-ending building site that that address once was. Perhaps it will mean that the other business will up their game. The dry cleaner's, for example, is a bit tatty looking on the outside (though it is a good place overall), and could do with a new sign and a spruce up. And the much-loved/lamented Le Moulin could do with, at the very least, a quick lick of paint and a poke around its hanging baskets with a trowel every now and then. In the past 18 months the framing place, the coffee shop, Sainsbury's, the Polish place and the butcher's have set up shop there as well as the Bombay Bicycle takeaway. True, the Chinese medicine shop and the electrician's have closed down, but on the whole, that strip is looking more healthy than it has for a long time.

A waiting room is not needed. A few extra bags of grit, a shovel and the necessary manpower might make more use of the money. Councillor, stop wasting money on naff nonsense like this and really, really THINK like a non-politician before you go dispensing our cash. I am on your side - I don't despise politicians in a knee-jerk fashion that is a common default setting in a large minority of people - but I do get annoyed when councillors don't have the wherewithal to see what is really value for money.

A lack of grit? A lack of common sense and elbow grease more like. Goodrich is closed, despite there being grit in the big yellow bin outside it, and despite the pavements being clear around its perimeters. (It could have a lot to do with the fact that it is a Friday.) The head teachers at Goodrich and Heber should question their reasons for closing their schools and ask themselves whether a few bags of salt, cat litter and a bit of improvised savvy could have kept them open. Children there are being taught that when it's below freezing for a few days, you just stay at home and hope that someone else deals with the 'problem'. The kids would have enjoyed learning about problem solving and working together, I'd've thought, and I am pretty sure there is a national curriculum box that could have been ticked by doing so.

Aside from all the rights and wrongs of Sainsbury's training of its staff, I am pretty sickened that a gang battle could have spilled over from the streets into a suburban supermarket. It might be a one-off, but it doesn't detract from the fact that for a certain minority of British people committing hard-core violence in a very public place with scant regard for others and little concern about getting caught is frightening.

British Gas is offering its own ?400 matching incentive, too.

This kind of stuff is manna to a rail journalist. If anyone has a tale to tell, I recommend you contact Simon Calder at the Independent or the Man in Seat 61. If it gets prominence in a biggish paper or mag, and the rail conoscenti get wind of it, it might get rectified. BBC London would probably be interested too as would the Standard. Nero

The dentist there, next to the cafe, has a leaking gutter that has resulted in a thick, 10' x 3' ice slick - at least it did on Monday morning when I nearly went flying. I went straight in and reported it to a non-too-interested/bright receptionist who - after she actually said 'well, I only work here' (I thought that kind of response was a Carry On-style myth) - promised to tell her boss. Given her lack of dynamism, the ice could well still be there, so take care. If it is, please ask the manager to do something about it before someone goes flying. Nero

NPower is offering ?400 in its own scheme, which led the Times y'day to write that a punter could get a total of ?800 off a new boiler once the government comes along.

I'd be prepared to wait 5 minutes more for a 363 or 63 if the latter was extended to HO station.