As we enter the latter half of 2024, the question is: have you ever won anything? Perhaps in the tombola at a summer fete? A prize for art or poetry or writing? An election where you were a candidate? A scooter uh motorbike on a TV game show? A word game? Maybe you got lucky in life or employment, or got some free cheese, or scooped a big lottery cash prize? Winning literally, or figuratively? Happily or sadly? Or do you want to win something specific? ... Or write about whatever is on your mind, in your heart, on your plate or in your journal, because this is your weekly free thread. [Post title/inspiration by Brown Sauce from 1981]

...for their meal - and apparently it is becoming more common in Britain.' Guardian: 'Some people may think they are able to justify their actions morally. "It may be reasoning that restaurants make so much profit that they won't miss a few pounds, or: 'They charge too much anyway, they're ripping me off, I'm just reciprocating,'" he says. Others, says Beattie, may put the emphasis on those they are close to: "'OK, the waiter might get into a bit of trouble, but hey, I'm treating my family.'" Or they may view it as a minor indiscretion in the scheme of things: "Hey, you think this is bad? Look at politicians! They're always cheating and stealing! This is nothing in comparison."'

Related: * In a plot twist - the psychology professor interviewed in the Guardian admits to previously being in a 'dine and dash'. * BBC: Dine-and-dash couple jailed and fined. * Law Society Gazette: 'Dine and dash' solicitor struck off. * BBC: Restaurant to charge upfront due to 'dine and dash'. * Yahoo News UK: Rise in 'dine and dash' customers blamed on police 'not taking action'. * BBC: Dine and dash hitting business hard - restaurateur.

Guardian: The average public library is not only a provider of the latest Anne Enright or Julia Donaldson: it is now an informal citizens advice bureau, a business development centre, a community centre and a mental health provider. It is an unofficial Sure Start centre, a homelessness shelter, a literacy and foreign language-learning centre, a calm space where tutors can help struggling kids, an asylum support provider, a citizenship and driving theory test centre, and a place to sit still all day and stare at the wall, if that is what you need to do, without anyone expecting you to buy anything.

It's getting dangerously, fatally, hotter. In Bamako, Athens, Santiago, Mexico City, Podgorica, Mecca, Rio de Janeiro, Paraburdoo, Delhi, Toronto, San Salvador, Beijing, Dubrovnik, Skikda, Rome, Cairo, Trenton, and many other places, 2024 temperatures are deadly and breaking records. What are your techniques, strategies, methods, neat tricks for dealing with the heat? Or just write about whatever is on your mind, in your heart, or on your plate, because this is your weekly free thread, fellow MeFites.