Your Problems Solved | 30 July 2005

Dear Mary…

Q. I have a six-bedroom house in Thorpeness to which I normally retire during the month of August. My problem is that there is no washing line and no way to dry sheets other than in a tumble-drier which is very noisy and, of course, unecological. With innumerable families proposing themselves to come for one or two nights during the month, would it be acceptable for me to ask people if they would mind sleeping in sheets that have already been slept in once or twice by other people, especially when most of those other people will have been children? I don’t like to ask people to bring their own sleeping bags, not only because they are a nuisance to carry but also because I find they are sweaty and uncomfortable to sleep in and I would not want my guests to be unhappy.
A.O., Thorpeness, Suffolk

A. While it is true that children effluviate less than adults, you must consider that there is a nit epidemic raging in England. Simply ask each of your guests to bring a duvet cover and a couple of pillow cases. Each person can then sleep inside his or her own duvet cover between the existing blankets. What is more, some high-achieving mothers use duvet covers as suitcases for their younger children’s clothes. They fit into a car more easily than suitcases and their pillow-like bulk is also useful to separate squabbling children in the car and to encourage them to sleep.

Q. How does one discreetly establish status when outside home territory and moving in a new milieu? I am going to stay in the south of France with some very new friends who are both famous and mega-rich but who have never been to stay with me.