On my way home yesterday a pedestrian wandered absent-mindedly out in front of me, causing me to apply the brakes with rather more force, squealing of blocks and screeching of tyres than I would have liked. It scared the living daylights out of him though. Unfortunately, it also burst one of my tyres, casting lumps of rubber and strands of nylon in all directions: it was really very dramatic. I heartily recommend Fibrax blocks with the slabs of exposed fibre on the face; on steel rims they are altogether louder than a horn. Did I say I was on a pushbike?