6 AUGUST 2005, Page 41

Q. Should your 59-year-old sandal-wearer ever get to the east

coast of Bali (23 July) he can have a massage, a manicure, a pedicure and a hair-cut for a snip at £4. What’s more, if he doesn’t want to walk or cycle to the village, a motor will collect.

J.P., Sydney, NSW A. I assume that you are not providing the service yourself but just reminding readers that these happiness-promoting comforts exist at budget-friendly prices in other countries. It prompts me to remind readers hosting houseparties in Scotland in forthcoming weeks that a resident massage therapist will make all the difference to the general well-being of guests particularly if the weather is bad. The norm is to offer each guest one 40-minute massage per day. The guests should tip the masseur themselves. Such appointments are no longer considered eccentric — provided the massage is of the seemly sort only — and many of the same agencies which supply cooks for holiday lets can also recommend peripatetic masseurs who are only too happy to have a change of scene and some guaranteed income.