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Q. Parking is very difficult near my house in London as there are only three meters and the rest are for resident’s permit holders only. Time and again friends who are coming to lunch or to stay ring me from their mobiles saying they are sitting in one of the spaces but have no change and can I possibly rush outside with pound coins — usually they want eight, to enable a two-hour stay. Neither of us wants them to waste time queuing at a bank to get change so they can pay me back, and they always promise to repay me next time — but, Mary, they are only human, and they forget. I am now owed a small fortune. Suggestions?
— A.C., London w8
A. When summoned to the meter, bring out ten £1 coins and two £20 notes. Insist that your guest borrows £50, not £8. Explain, in unrecriminatory tones, that it is much easier for everyone to remember a larger sum. Then write on a sticky post-it note ‘IOU £50’ and the name of the debtor. Affix it to an eye-catching surface. This system invariably triggers prompt repayment.
Q. Last week’s solution about how to shut up people chatting throughout tv programmes was too convoluted. You simply turn on the subtitles yourself, and this gives the message, loud and clear, so to speak, that their commentary is unwelcome.
— A.C., London w8
A. Thank you for this tip.
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