13 DECEMBER 2008, Page 71

A. It is unfortunate that your gallant intentions were stymied

but — no matter how many mutual friends’ names you were able to drop as endorsements — it would, indeed, have been faintly Fred West for you, a stranger, to offer Mrs Cameron a lift. If you are a very loyal Tory supporter, you could instead have offered her your car and volunteered to run behind it until she reached her own dwelling.

Q. My husband and I have just bought a new house in Guildford. We have inherited a gardener from the previous owners. Our gardener has shocked us this Christmas by putting up hanging baskets and Christmas wreaths, and by wheeling out a moss-covered polystyrene reindeer from the garage. How can I prevent this and other atrocities from happening in the garden as the year rolls on? I see we will be on a collision course. I do not want to hurt the man’s feelings.

Name and address withheld