WITHOUT looking at any actual letters or envelopes, which of these is the correct way to lay out a British address?

As a temporary resident in Britain, you receive a letter on behalf of a Government department, opening it eagerly for news of your status. Which of these opening phrases would you instantly regard as MOST worrying?

Which of the following openings, of an otherwise similar formal letter, would be most likely to offer you hope and relief?

According to traditional convention, if the letter began 'Dear M/r/s X., ... ', what phrase should correctly be used to sign it off?

As a fairly well-known member of the expatriate community where you are living/staying, you receive a formal invitation as follows; which would (officially) be the appropriate way to reply? 'On behalf of the Boghampton International Twinning Committee The Mayor and Mayoress of Boghampton request the pleasure of the company of ( ... your name ... ) at a Drinks Reception in the Civic Suite at Boghampton Town Hall from 7:15pm on Friday 31st June Lounge Suits R.S.V.P.'

You are reading the local news ~ always a good way of keeping your language fresh, along with your memories of places and people you met there ~ for a part of Britain where you previously spent some time (maybe as an au-pair in a family, or as a longish-term homestay TEFL student), and which you therefore remember particularly fondly. To your dismay, there has been a murder in this town or village (quite a small community, and now fairly obviously shocked at what's happened). The report ends by saying: 'A local man in his late twenties is currently helping police with their enquiries'. What does this tell you?

Following from Question 6, a need may sometimes arise for you to write 'in condolence' to express your sadness that someone you met has died. The ways of doing this will vary more or less infinitely depending on who you are, who they were, how you were connected and who you are writing to afterwards; but which of these might be the safest reasonable start?

Another potentially uncomfortable situation in which you would have to 'weigh your words' would be when writing to make a formal complaint to some organisation that had treated you badly. These days a first approach would more likely be made on the phone or online, but as a 'prelude' to formal written procedures (maybe even, eventually, involving lawyers) you would wish to register a firm and objective complaint, so you write to the highest level of Manager that you can identify. How might your letter best begin?

You are writing to a company with whom you were persuaded ~ during an earlier visit to England ~ to take out some form of membership or subscription. You explain to them that you no longer need their service/s and wish to terminate your subscription. Which of these would be the most appropriate and diplomatic way to conclude your letter?

You have been invited, by a British organisation, to submit a Character Reference for a longstanding friend. You do not wish to make him out as unbelievably perfect: like anyone else, he has his 'good days and bad days', is occasionally unpunctual, and will not always just 'take it on the chin' when he is treated shoddily by managers or customers. What fairly standard phrases can you safely use to hint at these quite normal human qualities, without it sounding unduly critical?