3 MAY 2008, Page 79

Q. Further to the solution offered about how to cope

with unwelcome singing in a communal shower at the pool (29 March) — I believe the strategy you suggest is exactly how antisocial behaviour is communicated to the offender in the longhouses of Borneo, where people live in divided cubicles with thin enough walls so everyone can hear each other chatting. So one person will say, in a very loud voice, ‘Isn’t it terrible how some people take more than their share of rambutan at breakfast time?’ Everyone else agrees and makes disapproving noises. The culprit, shamed but unconfronted, then sins no more.

A.F., Marrickville, Australia A. Thank you for endorsing my advice.