Drips, by, kind driver

I walk in the sun after rain. Everything is dripping: the branches of trees, gutters, eves, shrubs; the rain water gurgles into drains and you can hear it flowing above and below ground.

People have way of ending telephone calls with a note of satisfaction or relief. Thank God, that's over! " 'By", they say, but it isn't really " by"; it's "by-e". Air is expelled from the lungs.The final e, not quite an extra syllable, is just a little more than a full stop.

I do not often go to London these days. When I do, I still miss the old Routemaster buses. You could join them at traffic lights or in traffic jams by leaping on to the open platform at the back. Now, if you don't reach a bus stop in time, you can have to wait for the next one, even if if the bus you have just missed stops a few yard further on. This happened yesterday, but the driver, opened the doors to let us on, even though he was waiting at a red light. Such little acts of kindness do not go unnoticed.