Hair of sorrows
My friend is always copying my hairstyles. So I had my hair chopped short and ended up with a haircut “à la garçonne”, which suits me perfectly. Now she is flaunting her new short haircut on social media. It sickens me. I cannot go any shorter and I have an event in two weeks that she will also be attending. The funny thing is, she complains about her sister-in-law copying her dress style; now I wonder if it is the other way round. Despite her mania, she is a good friend and I appreciate her company. I could take all this attention as flattery, but I am fed up and do not want to be her muse. I don’t know how to tell her off without breaking up for ever.
GM, Canterbury
Wear a crew-cut wig for a while to look like Sinead O’Connor. Then, when your friend follows suit, as she inevitably will, whip it off to free your cascading locks.
When to lean back
Are there any rules about reclining your seat on an aeroplane? I’ve never bothered to do it, but I have noticed on our various flights to Spain (we go there quite a lot) that some people get quite cross when the person in front does it. If it is such a bad thing, why do airlines even have seats that tilt back?
JK, Chelmsford
There are no rules as such, but there is a widely accepted convention now that on short-haul flights you shouldn’t do it. Putting the seat back does severely impede the space of the person behind, therefore it should only be done on long-haul flights at the appropriate time: when the cabin is darkened so that everyone can sleep. Doing it at any other time is simply boorish and selfish. Some of the cheaper airlines now have fixed seats — you might think this is because the boorish and selfish people mainly fly with them, but I have flown business class often enough to know this is not true. Of course, if you are attempting to join the “mile-high club”, reclining the seat makes the whole experience much more comfortable, but it is polite to check that the person behind doesn’t mind.
How to succeed
If I make a mistake at work, is it best to own up early or wait until it is traced back to me?
AW, London
It’s best to blame someone else.
