1 APRIL 2006, Page 87

Q. My brother, aged 11, got his first mobile for

Christmas. He was so proud of it that he carried it everywhere. Unfortunately he had it in his shorts pocket when he went swimming at Lamu. My mother rang the insurers and they said they would never pay back money for mobiles that had fallen into water. What can we do, Mary?

T.B., Cherrington A. Open up the telephone and blast the innards with a hairdryer until they are bonedry. This often works to bring a waterlogged mobile back to life.