'We all need to be a little more considerate of each other'

I regularly exercise my (largely) well-behaved rescue dog along the canal, but do not use a lead there for a number of reasons, not least because having it suddenly stretched across a narrow path, when she has smelt something interesting on the other side, doesn't strike me as particularly safe.

If I see a bike or a dog on a lead coming towards me, though, I will take her to one side, and wait.

A sizeable number of those accommodated fail to make eye contact, never mind thanking me for my courtesy, courtesy that is rarely returned.

A case in point: WhilE I sympathiSe with M. Harrison's problems as a runner, I take issue with the statement, 'I've even considered carrying a small bell to alert walkers and dog owners when in audible distance, and I sometimes clap quietly to serve this function'.

Has he never considered simply saying 'excuse me', a phrase tailor-made for awkward social situations such as this?

Regardless of the dog issue, someone suddenly brushing past you out of nowhere can be scary and stressful, especially for those of a nervous disposition - or don't the feelings of others matter?

In any event, surely common sense dictates that the movements of someone aware of your presence are going to be more predictable than those of someone who isn't.

A few seconds warning is all that is required.

As others have already stated, we all need to be a little more considerate of each other, as, if we aren't, the situation is only going to get worse.

Perhaps it already has, but can we really blame our young people for their increasingly anti-social behaviour when it is simply a more extreme version of the lack of empathy and civility that we routinely show each other?

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