YOUR PROBLEMS SOLVED
Dear Mary. . .
Q. Last week, at a small dinner party, I was introduced to someone who I wrongly b elieved to be a friend of a friend of mine. I immediately said, 'I believe you are a great admirer of X. So am I.' I was thrown by her 'I am certainly not an admirer of his! ue is an appalling man', and the subse- quent list of crimes of which she went on to accuse him. 1 quickly changed the subject so as not to spoil the dinner party for every- one else by arguing in defence of my friend. But what should I have done?
J.B. Chippenham 4. One sophisticated way of agreeing to dif- fer over the merits of this mutual acquain- tance would have been to say languidly, people interesting. You're in the anti-camp. are always divided about him.' In this way, you could have paid friendly respect to your fellow guest's own judgment while simultaneously disallowing the accu- raeY of her aspersions.
_Q. Can you suggest a Christmas present for "neone who genuinely does have every- thing?
S.B. Kennington SE1 A. Yes. An amusing new product called Maidcall is available from the firm Aidcall which supplies granny alarms. Maidcall is a slim black box the size and shape of a cal- culator. By discreetly depressing a button on this portable device, staff can be alerted by bleep to attend to their employers' needs at the dinner table or even tennis court. Anywhere, in fact, up to 100 metres away. The receiver, which is not portable, is plugged into a wall socket in the quarters where the aides may be waiting for their summons — a summons which has the advantage of being silent from the trans- mission end and virtually unobservable. The device, costing roughly £500 in a silver case from Asprey's, is already in service in
certain ducal households. A cheaper ver- sion of the Maidcall (without the silver case) is available for around £150 direct from Aidcall, 363 Fulham Road, SW10 (071 352 2822), and can be put to good use by girls suffering from sexual harassment at work, as colleagues can be discreetly sum- moned to appear, as though by coinci- dence, each time molestation seems likely to begin.
Q. My husband bears a striking resem- blance to the Rt Hon Douglas Hurd MP. He is frequently being mistaken for him in restaurants. What can we do to prevent fur- ther embarrassing incidents?
S.1. London W8 A. Most chemists sell a vegetable hair colourant called henna, which can be used without harsh or drying repercussions to turn the hair an unnatural and striking shade of red. The dye can be mixed in a dis- posable plastic bowl and your husband could apply it by standing with his head upside down in this bowl for only 20 min- utes. This should help you to cut out any further difficulties of mistaken identity.
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