It had belonged to the family of Sir Thomas Beecham, the conductor, and had been decorated in the most showy form of art nouveau. Mr Adams himself was to be found behind an impressive door marked "General Secretary. Mr LD Adams" in gold lettering.I was shown into a smallish room with an open door giving out onto a balcony above a beautiful garden. I strolled through empty, sunny streets, up hill and down dale, from the dust of Kentish Town to the heights of Hampstead.It took only 40 minutes and by the time I arrived at Aslef HQ I had decided that Mr Adams and his members had done me an immense favour; never again would I suffer the involuntarily shared bodily fluids of rush-hour on the Tube. On a sunny morning there were rather more cyclists than usual, a couple of commuting roller-bladers and - incongruously - what looked like a fell- runner (looking for a fell, presumably). By and large most Londoners had decided not to bother with work at all.

The wife had the car and any bus services would get stuck fast in the appalling traffic jams that inevitably accompany rail stoppages. So, inspired by the examples of Laurie Lee and Patrick Leigh-Fermor, whose walks across Spain and Europe respectively had proved a treasure house of intense experiences, I decided to don a pair of comfortable shoes and go on foot. Leaving an hour and a half for my journey (and packing my mobile phone in case I should get lost in a hostile part of Swiss Cottage) I set out.There was virtually no traffic Few people were at the bus-stops. I was relieved at first - in an earlier conversation he had hinted that Lew Adams, general secretary of the union, might not do an interview at all. "He's not keen on profiles", I had been told, "he's just a railwayman".

Relief was soon, however, overtaken by a rather large logistical problem. How was I to get to Mr Adams? I would normally have travelled the four miles or so by Tube But there was, unfortunately, a strike on. ''All right", said the man from the train-drivers' union, Aslef, "he'll see you on Thursday at 9.30". Sir: Your business comment (24 July) claims it would take incompetence on a grand scale not to run rail franchises more efficiently and profitably than British Rail, even with smaller subsidies That is demonstrably unfair. John MacGregor, when Transport Secretary, wrote in 1994: "British Rail's record on productivity, service, safety and punctuality is impressive and it is known to run one of the most efficient railway systems in Europe". In a parliamentary answer last week, the Transport Minister John Watts acknowledged that the eight franchises let so far will cost the taxpayer pounds l9m more in 1996/97 than if BR were still running them.BR's downward pressure on expenditure produced a reduction of 5.7 per cent in unit passenger train operating costs in 1995/96, continuing a trend that has been established for many years.JOHN K WELSBYChairman and Chief ExecutiveBritish Railways BoardLondon NW1. It also shows how and where we have failed in achieving for that continent what we have sought. So, not through liberal-minded philanthropy, or post- colonial guilt should we return to the fray, but because the obstacles can be convincingly overcome if only we put our collective minds to it.DAVID WARDROPUnited Nations AssociationLondon W1.

Think, in passing, how neighbouring Zaire might sub-divide if each of its 300-plus languages was to be granted a space of its own!The 1996 Human Development Report published by the United Nations Development Programme indicates the distance that many African nations must travel to attain a quality of life that is now generally agreed as acceptable. Your opinion of self-induced "ethnic cleansing" leading to mass relocation and the redrawing of national boundaries has no place in such a programme.This UN system-wide initiative fully recognises the menacing obstacles which today's Burundi manifests but these are obstacles confronted by all societies that settle for the unrivalled benefits that accrue from a pluralistic society. Education, health and the secure access to clean water are its largest components but it is not confined to these. It links them with programmes in peace-building, conflict resolution and national reconciliation; good governance; supporting an independent press; and stimulating domestic savings. Dare I introduce the concept of a "stakeholder economy"? And the debt issue will be re-addressed. Together these set out to encourage in the minds of Africans a faith in the future and, of course, an identity with the present. Led by the World Bank and the UN Development Programme, it will co-ordinate the work of 28 UN agencies, along with countless NGOs.