YOUR PROBLEMS SOLVED
Dear Mary.. .
Q. A friend and neighbour recently asked if I could do her a huge favour by picking up a dress from a specialist dry-cleaner in Lon- don. As I was driving down from London to the village in the country where we both live, I was happy to do this. The problem is that the cleaning bill for the dress was £45 for some reason, and I paid it. On arrival in the country I went straight up to the 'big house' where this woman (who is much richer than me) lives. She was not in, so I handed the dress over to her housekeeper along with the rather tiny receipt. I didn't feel it should be necessary for me to do any more, but three weeks have gone by and my neighbour has not mentioned paying me back the £45. How should I go about asking for it without sounding chippy or making her feel embarrassed about not having paid me? She is rather vague.
Name and address withheld A• Wait until the next time you see that your neighbour is carrying cash or her cheque book, then affect a certain vagueness your- self. Say, 'Good Lord, I must pay you back,' then rush to your car or handbag and bring out your own cheque book. 'Now, I know I owe you forty-five pounds, I just can't remember what for,' you can say as you start scribbling. Then you can stop suddenly and say, 'No, hang on a minute, I must be going mad. You owe me forty-five pounds!'
May I suggest the following method of dealing with unwanted calls from double- glazing salespeople? On answering the phone and being asked to confirm that you are Mrs X, you reply (whether or not you are the said person), 'No, I'm afraid that Mrs X is far too drunk to come to the phone.' You are then rewarded with half a second or so of surprised silence.
E.A.W, Lane End, Bucks A. Thank you for this tip.
You recently advised a reader on how to avoid being trapped at a party by a specific man whom he knew to be boring. Having stumbled upon a marvellous method of simply bypassing bores in general at a drinks party, I would like to offer it to read- ers. On arrival at the party help yourself not to one, but to two glasses of cham- pagne. You can then push purposefully through the crowd, stopping to talk to those you feel like talking to and pressing on towards the imaginary recipient of the spare glass whenever you want to avoid someone.
MAP., London W14 A. It was kind of you to write. This method has an additional bonus for heavy drinkers; it halves the time they need to spend on fighting their way towards the bar or waiter.
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