your letters
Our pick of your best letters, pictures & wise words…
Soft touch
♦ Oh dear, in conversation with my mother about the recent budget, she mentioned the time when my Dad gave her extra emollients… I had not the heart to disabuse her. She meant emoluments!
Time-shaving tip
♦Spray your oven with shaving foam and let it soak in. After 30 minutes simply wipe with a damp cloth and some hot water. It is a cheap, effective way to clean your oven and will save you hours scrubbing away all of the grease and burnt residue.
Festive footwear
♦ I made these Christmas shoes out of last year’s Christmas cards to give to friends and neighbours. I put a couple of chocolates in them and they look lovely hanging on the Christmas tree. My father, who I lost in 1987, made the original pattern and I can remember him making them in the early Eighties.
(Can’t) keep dancing
♦ This is me with the very talented Strictly Come Dancing judge, Shirley Ballas. I met her recently following anappearance at a book festival. She was very friendly and up for a chat. I’m sure she would have shown me a few rumba moves too, only the hips aren’t up to it!
Charity overwhelm
♦These are the seven charity requests that came with my post today. They’re all good causes, but it’s impossible to donate to them all. So on this occasion I’ll pick one that means something to me. Surely the money spent by all these charities, plus the amount of paper used, must outweigh some of the donations.
A secret benefactor
♦Further to the letter A Helping Hand, I had a similar experience. During my first visit to a restaurant on my own, I ordered, duly paid and was told to take a seat. Along came my order and the waitress gave me my money back and told me that someone in the queue had paid for my breakfast. I thanked her and looked round to see if I could recognise the person. No sign. I enjoyed my meal but worried whether I
