All the leaves are BROWN

THEY’RE LEAVES FROM YOUR NEIGHBOUR’S TREE – BUT YOU’RE RAKING THEM UP. CAN YOU ASK THEM TO HELP?

At this time of year, you can spend a lot of time raking up leaves that land on your property from your neighbour’s tree. And you’re getting sick of it. Would it be reasonable to approach your neighbours and ask that they help with the raking? Or remove the tree? Unless you’re elderly or disabled, I’d try to see the positives in this. Trees are a beautiful element in any neighbourhood. Besides, leaves provide excellent mulch for your garden and raking them up provides great exercise. The law offers you some rights regarding neighbours’ trees – loss of light, dangerous falling branches etc. But you would not have the right to tell your neighbour to remove a tree purely because it constantly dropped leaves on your property. Nor would the courts insist your neighbours rake up the leaves that fell on your side of the fence. If you have a reasonable relationship with your neighbour, feel free to drop the hint that you wouldn’t mind some help. But if it doesn’t get results, don’t push the issue. That said, if you’re elderly or disabled, go ahead and ask for help.

You like to wear perfume when you go out socially, but you’ve heard that you shouldn’t wear it to restaurants as the aromas should be all about the food. But does this apply to dining at friends’ homes? And for that matter, what about wearing perfume to a doctor’s visit?

I remember the fuss when a Wellington restaurant refused to serve a woman because her perfume was detracting from the smell of the food. But I’ve not heard of others. When it comes to eating out, I think the decision to wear perfume is purely up to the wearer. If you feel that the constant bouquet of your perfume will detract from the aroma of the food, then don’t wear it. This applies to eating at friends’ homes too. Of course, the person wearing the perfume will be the one who notices it the most. But if you want to wear perfume when going out to eat, just put a tiny bit on. It’s nice that you’re so thoughtful of others, but if your perfume is affecting someone’s enjoyment of their food, I’d say you’re simply wearing too much. As for visiting the doctor, unless you have a condition that needs sniffing, any health professional would be delighted to encounter an appealing scent. A pleasant change, I’d have thought.