A clue about respect

We had a buzzy discussion last night at the Swindon festival of literature where Lynsey Hanley and I busked a session about estates, neighbourhoods and neighbourliness.

The pic suggests one of those 'aaaah' moments when someone asks the killer question... Or this may have been the question about front gardens and gossip. The questioner came up to me afterwards and said she was now persuaded to grow potatoes in her front garden, implying cheerily that I was to take credit for this.

There were also several points made about the role of third places, especially community-based venues  - like Community Crossroads (formerly the railway museum) where we found ourselves  - which play such a crucial and often under-appreciated part in the community sector.

And it's curious the coincidences that bump into you, however quietly you might try to move about, on this planet... It happens that someone came up to me afterwards and asked what I meant by 'respect'  - as in personal respect, or as in 'Respect agenda'. Then later, on the train home, a quick crossword in an available newspaper offered this clue to my weary eye:

Respect (4)     H _ E _

That's one I wouldn't have thought of, even under the outgoing political regime.