91Èȱ¬

Who is I was a regular donor in the UK, but I am not allowed to give blood in NZ because I lived in Britain for more than six months. Apparently I might be a mad cow.
Margaret, Christchurch, NZ

Here in Denmark, being British (or at least having lived in Britain during the mad cow disease era) is enough to have you barred from giving blood. Though no doubt, any Danes requiring blood while in the UK will be happy enough to accept. I was irrationally offended by their refusal to have mine the other week.
Ruth Helen, Copenhagen, Denmark

In the US, there are restrictions placed on donors:
Cannot donate if spent time that adds up to three months or more in the UK from 1980-1996 (England, N Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Isle of Man, Channel Islands, Gibraltar, Falkland Islands)
Or if spent time that adds up to five years or more in European countries since 1980 (including time spent in the UK during 1980-1996).
My blood type is O- and I would love to be able to donate, but because I lived in London for 10 years between 1987 and 1997, cannot.
Jennifer Rowe, San Diego, US

- not any more, Madame, courtesy of la 91Èȱ¬.
Mark, Reading, UK

The 91Èȱ¬ now seems to be using the prefix "ex" (e.g. ex-president), where previously the word "former" would have been used. Has a new language policy been adopted? More importantly, can any Monitorites/fellow pedants clarify which is grammatically (or stylistically) correct?
Laura, Cardiff

Did the smugglers not note the not so subtle warning on the ship that their enterprise might not be such a good idea? ()
Simon, Colchester, UK

"It's me, bear, it's me" (Wednesday's Quote of the Day): Does he really know what he's doing, or is he just ursine about?
Rob Falconer, Llandough, Wales

OMG ! You're still the best though...
Karen, Cardiff
Monitor note: Paper Monitor passes on its thanks.

Yes Infense (Tuesday letters), if your employer has put up decorations they are permitting you to do nothing.
Laura, Ipswich

Infense, another group on the same floor as me at work have had a miniature Christmas tree up for at least the past 18 months. I can see it from my desk as I type. Given your theory of decorations = no work/holiday mode, it may explain why their outputs are always so low.
Katherine, Canberra, Australia

So, the old Routemaster unit of measurement is back on the Letters Page (Tanya K's Tuesday letter). Has anyone else noticed the new money metric out there - "you could save enough money to get 2 tickets to a European away game". When did this start happening? And why weren't we told?
Vicki, London

Sorry Sam (Tuesday letters), there was no 1LO. 2LO's predecessor was 2MT. The LO probably stood for London and MT for Marconi Telegraph. The 2 probably just indicated the frequency band used for broadcasting.
David , Newcastle, UK

I was in the meeting room at 15:00 BST yesterday, which is really inconvenient for me. Where the hell was everybody else?
Titus A Newt, Perth, Australia
Monitor note: Hate to break this to you, Titus...

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