11 AUGUST 2001, Page 55

Q. I am about to join a famous Highland regiment.

As part of my duties as an officer, I will be required to attend social occasions where there will be a large number of very pretty girls present but where I will have to wear uniform, including kilt. My regiment

is fastidious about enforcing traditional Highland dress regulations, even down to the smallest detail. Please, Mary, how am I to hide the obvious excitement I may well experience in the line of duty?

Name and address withheld A. The sporran may well have been designed expressly for this purpose. Before going to your regimental dos, fill your sporran with some form of ballast, This will serve to countermand any excitement you may feel. Obviously the amount of ballast necessary will be determined by the likely ferocity of your excitement, so take this into account.