Q. I was staying recently with a very old girlfriend and her mother at her mother’s house in the country in England and was given my old girlfriend’s bedroom for the weekend on the upper attic floor. I suspect that the room had not been used for a long time. The house is not centrally heated and is rather musty. I came away from a wonderful weekend very badly bitten by bedbugs and the bites are still causing me discomfort three weeks later. What should I do? Should I tell her so she can throw away the old mattress and fumigate the room and prevent any other guests from suffering similarly? Will she take offence?
— A.L., Chile
A Since bedbugs can hide in luggage and aeroplane seats, their renaissance is linked to international travel, expensive hotels and glamour rather than Dickensian squalor, so no victim of infestation need feel shame. You can also tell your ex-girlfriend that Rentokil has developed a chemical-free means of eliminating bedbugs which means you do not have to throw out the infested bed. It is called Entotherm and it has won the Best Business Award for Best Innovation in the Private Sector 2010.
Q. What does a person with virtually no money give as a present to friends who are incredibly generous? I spend so many weeks and weekends as a house guest of alpha friends, but I cannot return the hospitality in my little flat to any degree of comparison. I earn a pittance as a decorator’s assistant but I feel uncomfortable about accepting and never giving back.
— Name and address withheld
A. A straw poll of alphas will reveal that very few of them have signed up for BA miles although they have ‘always meant to’. The anticipated boredom of filling out the form has put them off. In fact the procedure is minimally invasive. Next time you stay, insist on scheduling in a slot when you can stand over them and their laptop, coaxing them through the steps of joining the BA Executive Club. Miraculous amounts of air miles immediately begin to accrue. For example, a Club World return ticket to New York earns enough miles for a return flight to Paris. Do the same for the BA American Express credit card, which currently generates 3,000 bonus miles for spending £500 within three months. Everyone loves saving money, especially the super-rich, and every time they fly they will think warmly of you.
Q. May I pass on a tip to badly-off readers? On receiving a round robin to sponsor someone via justgiving.com, donate immediately. Your contribution of, say, £25, will look more generous when not juxtaposed by giant amounts given by the big hitters weeks later.
— Name and address withheld.
A. Thank you for this tip.
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