YOUR PROBLEMS SOLVED
Q. I am giving a number of dinner parties over Christmas and would like to ask your advice on a point of control. What can one do when people just carry on laughing, talk- ing and drinking when you have told them that supper is ready and have asked them to come through to the dining room? It is particularly annoying if you are having soup or a soufflé, which I am planning to. Can you advise a foolproof way of getting my guests to come through when they are asked to?
M.P.C.M. Wilts A. That first flush of intoxication which characterises the moods of many guests at the beginning of a dinner party tends to render them unco-operative about 'coming through'. Often they are mid-anecdote with a new person and the alcohol has dimin- ished their sense of responsibility when the call to table is given. You should have no trouble in getting them to come through, however, if you switch off the lights in your drawing room shortly after your announce- ment is made. The pitch darkness will bring Your guests to their senses and you will find that they blunder swiftly out towards the light and the dining room.
Q. Your kind advice please! It used to be a simple matter to give our dustmen a Christ- mas box. The refuse lorry always arrived
Dear Mary. . .
round about the same time every Monday, a four-man team collecting and loading mostly in sight of each other. On hearing the lorry, which amusingly used to make much more noise just before Christmas, I would go out and give the money to the driver, asking him to divide it equally among the team. Thus most or all of them would witness this. At the beginning of this year, however, our local authority placed this service in the hands of a private firm, and the programme is different. One man now arrives in advance and places the black refuse bags from our dustbins in our drive. The refuse lorry then collects them at wide- ly unpredictable times — sometimes when we are not in. How can I ensure that my Christmas box to these dustmen will reach its rightful recipients this year?
E.W.H. Holly Bank, Ormskirk, Lanes A. A number of readers have written with similar queries, many of them concerned
that the one dustman who calls in advance, and whom one might see close to the house, should not siphon off the entire Christmas box for himself. My advice is that one of your refuse sacks should have Sell- otaped to it a large sheet of white paper on which is printed in bold letters: 'REFUSE VAN DRIVER — PLEASE CALL AT THE HOUSE TO RECEIVE CHRIST- MAS BOX.' If you are likely to be out when the driver might call, leave a similar notice on your front door which reads: `REFUSE VAN DRIVER — PLEASE CALL AT IVY BANK [or another adja- cent property belonging to a co-operative neighbour] TO COLLECT CHRISTMAS BOX. Readers should note that the dust- men's anticipation of Christmas boxes means that this is the best week of the year for getting rid of old fridges, garden refuse and other bulky items which dustmen nor- mally refuse to take.
Q. What is the best Christmas present to give to someone who you do not like?
D.L. WC1 A. A xylophone would be an ideal present for people who have children. The instru- ment would give equal offence and annoy- ance to an unmarried adult.
Mary Killen
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