Where do I buy my ticket to ride the gravy train?
Passengers on the train haven’t bought tickets, they are all freeloaders travelling at others’ expense.
Lawrie Bradly, Surrey Hills, Victoria, Australia
• The stock market?
David Isaacs, Sydney, Australia
• As a bank director you go to a board meeting and vote for it.
Pat Phillips, Adelaide, South Australia
• Right beside the gravy boat.
Margaret Wyeth, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
• The lottery.
Roger Morrell, Perth, Western Australia
• Right here; but hurry, the train is about to leave.
Terence Rowell, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
A leaden way of interacting
If speech is silver and silence golden, what is texting?
A platinum distraction.
R De Braganza, Kilifi, Kenya
• Well-fingered silicone.
Stuart Williams, Kampala, Uganda
• Leaden – and no alchemy will change that.
George Bruce Levine, Island of Gozo, Malta
• Based on my long experience as a teacher, silence in the classroom rather than being golden is often the result of the students being busy texting instead of studying.
John Ryder, Kyoto, Japan
• Fatal distraction.
Richard Orlando, Westmount, Quebec, Canada
• Texting is avoidance of the pleasures of speech and intrusion on the perfection of silence.
Ursula Nixon, Bodalla, NSW, Australia
• Bronze.
Jennifer Horat, Lengwil, Switzerland
• Bromide.
Noel Bird, Boreen Point, Queensland, Australia
What separates us humans
Why is the human species the way it is, and could it be changed?
The question was asked of a bien pensant French grandee who answered: “That we continue to drink when we are not thirsty, and have sex all year round, are the only things, Madame, that separate us from the rest of the animal kingdom.”
Colin Lendon, Canberra, Australia
You really should toast it
What is the best thing since sliced bread?
The Gulping Yolkfish Egg Separator is the winner in our kitchen. It appeals to everyone from toddlers to celebrity chefs, plus its overuse leads to many delicious but unnecessary desserts.
Gerald Garnett, Kaslo, British Columbia, Canada
• The best thing since sliced bread is toasted sliced bread.
David Hinkley, Santa Barbara, California, US
• Pizza.
Philip Stigger, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
More tea will do the trick
What should we do when all hope is lost?
Accept it. It will make us immune to disappointment, frustration and rejection. Not such a bad thing, really.
Angelika Burger, Engelskirchen, Germany
• “The situation is hopeless. We must take the next step”– Pablo Casals.
Annie March, West Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
• Make another pot of tea and carry on.
David Tucker, Halle, Germany
Any answers?
Why do people speak so much louder on their mobile than face to face?
Edward Black, Sydney, Australia
Do we have a choice in what is true?
R De Braganza, Kilifi, Kenya
Send answers, and more questions, to weekly.nandq@theguardian.com or Guardian Weekly, Kings Place, 90 York Way, London N1 9GU, UK
