I am sure that the lights on HOR / London Road now let more cars through than they used to, so it is less of a wait than it used to be. It is now possible for more than 8 cars to get round in the time the lights give you.
But there can be no excuse for driving down Manor Mount, however slowly you go. Once one person allows themselves to do it on special occasions, it invites everybody to do the same. Unlike speeding (where the government should admit that cars can drive safely at 80mph on motorways) jumping lights, going the wrong way down roads, or sending text messages when driving are dangerous to you and to everybody around you.
I don't blame you for driving to Sainsburys, and if you do it for your weekly shop I don't think there is anything wrong with this. You might want to consider getting the shopping delivered, I find this a very useful way to avoid walking up the hill with bags of shopping too heavy to carry.
I admire your courage for admitting to your deviant behaviour (going down Manor Mount that is) but would urge you, and others on the forum who doubtless do the same, to stop it. Think of all the effort driving to Sainsburys saves you in not walking up the hill, then consider waiting for an extra 2 minutes for the lights to change so you can obey the law. Even without driving illegally you can still be happy that you have saved yourself a significant amount of effort at little cost to your own time.
Thank you for some non-kneejerked consideration. You can be reassured that I have no immediate plans to do a naughty down Manor Mount and to be honest, haven't done so for the 2-3 years since our little one came along. Changing priorities and all that. I'm not known for my delinquency though, and nor I suspect are many of those who drive illegally down Manor Mount. The need is surely to reinstate 2 way traffic more than shouting at cars.
Not sure I agree about the green light duration. I timed it at 6 seconds last week.