Nigello

I think it is a societal thing, whereby people in "power" have been told that they ought to practically fall over themselves to be just like their client/customer/patient so as not to highlight any class or cultural gulf. It's claptrap, of course, and very patronising to the people "not in power", who seemingly can't cope with a man or woman in a whitecoat saying "Hello Mrs X, I am Dr Y and I will be treating your Z today. Please take a seat." etc.

Agreed - hold tight and put on another jumper/pair of socks/etc. Seriously, though - do an audit of your daily energy needs and see where you can cut down. It can only help, even if just a little.

I had thought the huge puddles after rain tehre were to do with drains but was told it was to do with this pipe problem. I am still sceptical as the rain did definitely mean there were bigger puddles than during dry periods. Anyway, it took an eamil to councillors and the env. department to get something to happen. Do they rely on the public, etc. to tell them or can they tell when there is a leak of any importance? If so, do they triage it and just leave some to Carry on Leaking?

Those strips can tell the difference, I was told by those installing one set, between heavy and light vehicles, two-wheels and four+ wheels, cyclist and pedestrian, etc. (They said a certain amount of air is sent down to a reader once the wires are compressed and the reading depends on weight, wheels, etc.)

Lameduck - I am with you on the lack of safety from at least some (a sizeable minority) of cyclists. So many - even the "nice" ones with baskets and dangling children, with pink vests - go through reds and many others (especially the delivery cyclists) scoff at front and back lights. The more of us who are cycling, the more of us will be at risk of these bad apples, so it is reasonable to ask for best practice to be adopted alongside the measures being put in place to expand the number of non motor-using road users.

I think it is to do with the idea that the NHS, love it or adore it or loathe it or merely just accept it, is a public and national service. In the US, where you pay dearly, you expect and even demand the personal touch. (I suggested the obvious because so many people just go along with the status quo and are reticent to stand up for themselves, even in the relatively benign example of asking a doctor or dentist to ID him or herself. It should not be a concern but it is, unfortuately, and that is because of attitudes and misconceptions on both sides.)

If in doubt, ask. They won't be offended if you inquire politely.

Back on topic - good diction and effective communication does not have to have anything to do with accent. Some native speakers I know are not a patch on those with English as a second language, who have taken more care in understanding and being understood.

Yes, Go for LG or Samsung - great quality and you can get "smaller" screens with decent sound and 4K. (More and more shows, inlcuding on BBC, are being made in this format, AKA UHD.) I got mine from John Lewis for around ?250 about 18 months ago but I bet some are now cheaper.

Thursday - you can save energy and at least some money by filling in the gaps of your floorboards with https://stopgaps.com/ , and also by lining curtains, blocking draughts around doors and windows with tape, etc.

Bumble bee, honey bees and various hoverflies are about.

There will come a time that cycling will be so normalised that subsidies will no longer be acceptable to most people. I would hope that those who can afford a bike (and who are not spending money therefore on petrol, car maintenance, public transport) woudl be willing to pay a ?5/month fee for their locker. Seems reasonable to me but I am sure others woudl have different ideas.

Sturgeon is good with a script but perilously bad when challenged and she doesn?t like the dir3ctiom of travel.

Sleepy-looking toad clambering over paved ground in a front/side L-shaped garden near Friern/Goodrich. Looked rather skinny.

I?ve seen some taking crumbs from under caf? tables in the the Village - very bold and likeable.

ANd if not paid by DD? Anyone know? Ta

Could someone please "boil" this? (ie. reduce it to the facts in chrono order?)

J Vine will be featuring this between midday and 2pm (perhaps 1pm) today, Wednesday, on BBC Radio2.

i never dreamt taht cycle-path hoggers would let tyres of SUVs down - it never entered my head. "Family types" suggests that as you have a kid or two and are in a wealthy area of London you are therefore allowed to transgress more than non-married, or - shudder - divorced or barren folk with less cash to splash!

That section is definitely a shared cycle-pedestrian/wheeler space. The bit from Gail's down to the park entrance is, I believe, not a shared space and ought only to be for wheelchair users and pedestrians and child cyclists on their own, not with mummy or daddy, but - maybe confused by the shared space a bit further down - is often used by adult cyclists, rather selfishly (and definitely illegally).

Re "you should have done it to big diesel lorries, etc." I would have thought that such vehicles are carrying a lot more than one or two adults and a kid or two on a short, walkable journey, so their ultimate carbon footprint would be lower?

? More likely that letters were fewer but parcels (including the ones that pass as deliverable as standard mail) increased due to home shopping.

Yes, but the variable may well fall foul of October cap increases and/or increased prices because of the Ukraine invasion. Best bet - be prepared to spend more on fuel and cut cloth accordingly, eg. restricted use of heating, hot water.

Mine was to have gone up 50% but then I went online to e-on's site and that offer had gone. The E-on Energy Plan was not fixed and predicted a doubling of my current payments over the year April 22 - 23. The next best option was fixed and was another forty quid or so monthly, but that would mean that an October hike would not affect me (I think). I am using 20 percent less leccy and gas than last year and am determined to reduce more. (Of course, all of these are projected usage so if I am really scrimpy then I could reduce these estimates considerably.)

The council, though, has obligations to a much wider and generally more diverse group of people who would not likely use standard gyms. It also has good rates if you sing up and use DD so it is not that fair a comparison. I agree the booking system is now not needed but I have never found it cumbersome, just irksome because it allows folk to book and then not turn up. (I don't think people are routinely fined, just sent stern-ish letters.)