NEWS that our county roads will have to stay “pot-holed” for the foreseeable future was annoying – but not unexpected. So it was pleasing to see this week that the city’s pedestrians were being considered more favourably.

Surrounded by those red and white barriers that have become so much a part of Oxford’s scenery, workmen were filling the gaps between the uneven flagstones at Carfax.

Looking down High Street it would appear the men have a job for life. The place is a haven for those who might wish to take the council to the cleaners for pavement-based accidents.

How was the work going, I asked one seasoned workman?

“Boring,” he said while filling another gap.

* EMMA was on crutches – the result of a Valentine’s Day accident. Crouching down was Sian touching the old sock that covered the injured metatarsus. Unusual I thought, even for Broad Street.

The two had never met until now, but Sian, small and serious faced until she delivered a heart-stopping smile, was intent on helping. Prayer would do the business, she promised.

Unbelievers may scoff at those who believe in the power of prayer, but Sian was firm in her faith – as well as being the only person who had stopped to help.

* SIX-YEAR-OLD Ellie, with her dad on a first-time visit from Reading, further brightened a sunny morning.

We met in the Old Schools Quad. She was clutching a small, cuddly dinosaur. They had been to the Natural History Museum.

“It’s not just called dinosaur, but a...” she explained when I asked its name. She gave one that sounded longer than a bus time table. Smiling, she went on to say it was related to another equally long-named species whose intelligence was far superior. Lesser specimens were also described – by name.

“She’s into dinosaurs,” said proud dad.

So it seems.

* THERE’S no doubting the success of the musical, Wonderland, now at the New Theatre in the fifth week of its seven-month tour.

You might call it Alice in Wonderland for adults; perhaps, it certainly brought out the kid in me. I had a broader smile than the aforementioned Ellie. Only the pedant would describe it as a poor reflection on Lewis Carroll’s timeless story.

Packed with the author’s crazy characters, wonderfully portrayed on a magical set, it is full of fun with a marvellously happy and nostalgic ending – and Heaven knows the world needs one or two of these.

* HEAP of the week: The area outside the departed Wahoo night spot in Hythe Bridge Street. Old, damaged emergency fencing, barrier tape, discarded Christmas trees, a waterproof canopy and enough bottles and cans to stock an off-licence. Hardly a tourist attraction.