25 JANUARY 2003, Page 79

Q. My husband has recently enrolled in a lip-reading course.

This follows his refusal to wear ear-protectors over many years of shooting, which has resulted in his becoming increasingly deaf. Can you recommend any way in which he can gain extracurricular practice in this skill?

11,4,W, London W8 A More than 100 people practise lip-reading every Saturday night in Kensington Place restaurant, where the decibel level makes ordinary conversation inaudible. Let him join the throng and see how he fares.