You're always so understanding Iains, and seem to see all sides of a question :)

I do put 'getting along with one's neighbours' above getting grumpy about smoke. Often the wind blows it the other way, and our double-glazing is very tight. We and our neighbours always help each other out in a difficulty, and that's valuable.

Back to the original thread title: I do worry about the Earth and what we've done to it. It's been absolutely ruined hasn't it? And we all love our cars, flights abroad and heating. Not to mention the tsunami of blooming plastic, which is one of my particular hates, having lived at a time when there was hardly any of it in our daily lives.

Do you happen to know if the displacement north of the Jet Stream is a result of global warming? It seems to be bringing ghastly storms and torrential rain which we didn't have before in the winter.