On Wednesday morning I got on to a No 1 bus and showed my senior citizen’s pass, but was told I was too early to use it.

“At one minute to nine” I said to the driver, but she pointed out firmly my watch was wrong and the correct time was actually two minutes to nine. Her remark swept my one good leg from under me. The other leg is a bit unsound, so I was accompanying it to the hospital for an X-Ray and then making sure it got home safely.

If I complained to the bus company someone sitting high up in an office block somewhere would probably tell me: “Rules are rules and must not be broken”.

Fine, we need some rules and regulations, but couldn’t some of them, such as this example, be altered to guidelines which would allow a margin for common sense?

Tony Baker, Lucombe Way, Hartrigg Oaks, York.