Q. Speaking of pellets, as you did last week, may I ask something else? Whenever I have eaten birds, it has always been quite an informal occasion where one didn’t have to worry about, well, what to do with shot. One could simply more or less neatly take it out of one’s mouth. But if one were dining more formally and the issue arose — is it necessary to swallow?
B.T., Berkeley, California
A. It is never necessary to swallow shot. Having worked it to the tip of your tongue, give your lips a swift wipe with your napkin and let the shot be swept to the floor as you do so. Should contact with the floor be audible, ignore the sound — no need to comment.
Q. The central London flat where I normally live is having essential repairs carried out and I have to move out next week. Having been rugged by a friend of a friend who had agreed I could live in one of her spare rooms, I find I will be technically homeless until perhaps April. However, since I have a weekend cottage in Norfolk and will be travelling a great deal and on holiday for one ten-day period, I do not want to waste money on renting a stopgap flat for a minimum let of six months. What should I do, Mary?
K.B., London W1
A. I am delighted to announce that you can stay in the Travelodge in Covent Garden’s Drury Lane for £26 per night with parking costing £15 for 24 hours. All rooms have ensuite facilities. Travelodge’s director of public communications, Greg Dawson, cheerily informs me, ‘a lot of London people are using our hotels instead of taking a taxi home, which can work out more expensive.’ Travelodge has launched a programme for 2006 of 500,000 rooms at £26 per night in a combination of rural and urban locations. You can pay as little as £10 if you book three weeks in advance (see www.travelodge.co.uk).
Q. I recall a letter published in your column in January 2002 (from M.C.-M., Notts) in which your correspondent commented on the fashion for leaving shooting before the day is formally concluded. I now hear of something even ruder: a gun invited to shoot, who, on seeing another guest whom he cannot abide, leaves before the day has even begun. Can you pronounce on this, Mary?
G.N.V.C., North Yorkshire
A. The amount of effort and money which goes into planning a day’s shooting dictates that those who accept an invitation to shoot must also accept that the fixture is set in stone. Leaving early is a breach of etiquette, but to turn tail before the day has even begun in response to the sight of an unwelcome face is an unforgivable breach. Even in the unlikely event of Alun Michael being one of the fellow guns, the participants must continue as planned. Both crimes are self-punishing, however. Word swiftly gets around and, to a greater or lesser degree, the miscreants will soon see the rust beginning to set into the lock of their gun cupboards.
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