Jenny and Ed (You be the judge: should my son apologise to our neighbour for piling leaves in front of her house?, 8 November) would not have had a problem with their neighbour if they had decided to use their piles of leaves to make leaf mulch instead of leaving them piled up outside her house. You gather them in a container like a sack or wire frame, and a year later you have the most fabulous, nutritious mulch for the garden. It’s a great use of all the leaves everywhere at the moment.
Penny de Ruyter
Sheffield
• The Guardian always has something new to teach me, but even so, I was astonished to learn that I can date a hot-water bottle by a flower at its neck, with petals and dots for months and weeks (How to check a hot-water bottle’s age, and other ways to stay safe and warm, 9 November). Who knew? I shall use this dating system from now on.
Lynne Scrimshaw
London
