Dear Mary, from Joanna Lumley: what should I do with my excess Christmas cards?

From Joanna Lumley

Q. We receive a huge number of Christmas cards every year. When I take them all down on 6 January I feel so guilty about throwing them away that I hoard them in carrier bags. Some I make into tags for next year’s presents, but hundreds of lovely and cheerful pictures seem destined for destruction. My small study is almost overflowing, as unfortunately I save birthday cards as well. Is there any way they could be re-used or made into something charming? Who should I contact, dear Mary? Do I need counselling? With festive but anxious greetings.

A. Don’t even think of throwing them away. Stack them as neatly as possible and include within each year’s individual bundle a typed inventory giving full names of the senders and their relationship to you. It is not your children or your grandchildren who you have to consider, it is your great-grandchildren who will be fascinated to uncover something so personal about their ancestor. And don’t forget the mercenary aspect — the autographs of your celebrity friends will be worth something one day.

From Jeremy Vine

Q. I present a radio show which includes a weekly medical slot with a guest GP. Over the years, people have begun to think I must have some sort of medical expertise myself, which led to my being stopped in Boots by a listener who asked me to help him choose between two brands of suppository. I wanted to say I couldn’t help, but this seemed rude. How should I have answered?

A. Rather than making him feel small for assuming you would know, you should have pretended to ponder briefly before answering: ‘Do you know, if it were me, I would ask the pharmacist for advice.’