30 AUGUST 2003, Page 55

Q. I am shortly going to spend a few days

in the country house of a friend. I know it is common to bring a present to a house-party but, to be frank, my hostess, whom I love dearly, is common. Money is no object and she already has everything it can buy. She also has a husband and four young children. Can you suggest a novel present, Mary?

DS., London W11 A. Why not buy her a loud-hailer from a ship's chandler? They cost around £35 and go down a treat in both lowerand upper-class households. They can be used in the former to settle arguments and in the latter to summon children and dogs from extensive parkland.