Dear Mary…Q. A man and a woman are in a railway carriage either side of the door. Both want to get off at the next station. The train stops. Who gets out first, a) if they are known to each other, b) if not?
B.A.L., Egerton, Kent
A. In both cases the man gets out first and holds the door open for the woman, offering to give her a hand with her bags if appropriate.
Q. I have been going to the same hairdresser for about 15 years and have always been pleased with the cut. However, for one appointment, he was away sick and my hair was cut by another stylist, a girl, who cut it very well, and I had compliments when I returned to work. I managed to get her again when I changed my appointment and my regular stylist was not available, and again she cut it much better than my usual man. The problem is – how can I change to this girl stylist without hurting the feelings of my old stylist? They both work in the same salon on the same days.
M.C., Cambridge
A. Let us call the old hairdresser Leo and the new one Andrea. Ask a male friend to visit the salon and say he wants to give someone a surprise birthday present. Can he pay in advance for six sessions with Andrea? When you walk in for your first of these ‘free’ six appointments (for which you will have secretly reimbursed your friend), take Leo discreetly aside. Pull a rueful face as you explain the ‘muddle’. ‘I thought it was a bit odd when he asked me for the name of who had just done my hair. Little did I know that he planned to come in and buy me six appointments as a birthday present.
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