Purple Helen

That's a capital I not an L. Thanks

We are travelling to Southern Brazil in October for a family wedding. We will be travelling around Brazil before the wedding so don't really want to pack a formal suit. Does anyone know if/where we can hire a man's suit in or near Balneario Camboriu or Itajai please?

Does anyone know where we can get a good meal on a Sunday in August in the Welsh town of Llanidloes please? Most places seem to be shut - I've checked Trip Advisor and Googled the restaurant websites, but no luck.

I have a very large Aspidistra (about 45 leaves) which is usually very healthy. At the moment about 50% of the leaves have dry brown tips (about 2 or 3 cm into the leaf). I am in the UK and we have had a wretched summer, so I don't think it can be sunburn (and it is in a North facing window)

I know they thrive on neglect, which is just as well as we often go away for a couple of weeks at a time!

It is in a self watering pot (the kind with a reservoir at the bottom) and I only water it when the top of the soil is very dry, but it is just possible it is over-watered.

I feed it occasionally through the summer (a few drop of liquid Baby Bio in the water every 3 or 4 weeks.)

Could it be over/under feeding?

or over/under watering?

Advice from a gardener/nurseryman would be much appreciated.

Thanks

Hi - does anyone know if it is possible to mend a Leki Makalu Trekking pole, when it has been accidentally extended beyond the "stop" line, so it won't retract?

And if so - how?

I am annotating a document in MadCap X-Edit Review. I need to be able to add a double chevron and the only way I can think of doing so is by key-strokes, since X-Edit Review is very basic and has no Symbol or character list.

Using Word I have located the double chevron in Symbols, but I don't understand the keystrokes it is telling me to use!

It says the strokes are: Ctrl + `,> ( or Ctrl + `,< for the opposite way round).

What I can't work out is which keys I have to hold down together.

I know which is the Control key

I think that ` is the key on the top left of my keyboard, which also has a vertical line and ¬ on it.

I presume , is just a comma

And the chevron is obvious.

Can anyone tell me in words of one syllable which keys to press in which order please?!

(If it makes any difference, I am using a UK keyboard).

Many thanks

Helen.

I will be flying through Dubai from England to India shortly. We will be in transit in Dubai for a few hours only, never leaving the airport.

I have read on the Emirates airline website that drug laws are strict - fine, no problem with that.

However, I normally carry headache tablets in my suitcase which are Paracetamol & Codeine. According to the link from the website Codeine is a "Controlled drug". Obviously I won't have a prescription, as this is a medicine you can buy in any supermarket in the UK, so what exactly are the rules?

Am I liable for jail, or just to get the tablets confiscated. They will be in my checked baggage, but I guess they may use sniffer dogs or whatever on the hold baggage.

Anyone know what the rules really are?

Thanks.

We had a power cut for 7 days while we were on holiday, then it came back on 4 days before we got home.

All the food is frozen now, of course, but I don't know if it is safe to eat. (Fruit OK, but meat?)

There is thick frost on the side of the freezer which makes me think it can't have thawed, but does anyone know scientifically?

Thanks

Clearing out my late mum-in-law's house, we found a hoard of tablets of various kinds. We took most to the pharmacist to dispose of, but there are loads of Paracetamol which I could keep and use. However, some are a little past their expiry date.

Any medics or pharmacists out there, can you tell me what the real shelf life is? If the tablets show expiry Aug 08 or Aug 09 on the box, for example, are they actually unsafe to use?

Please only answer if you really know. Thanks.

In the very cold weather we are having in the UK, I am feeding the birds in my garden the usual things (seeds, fat balls, peanuts etc) but I wondered if anyone out there knows if they can eat jam?

I have loads of jars of homemade fruit jam, which will have a high energy content - and birds eat fruit - so I am just wondering if the sugar is OK for them. (Plum, damson, blackcurrant - all made just with fruit and sugar and nothing else).

Please only answer if you have expert knowledge - I can guess too, but I am looking for serious advice.

This is on a wine bottle label from Alsace:

Un passion et des hommes".

My schoolgirl French says it must mean something like "A passion and some men" but that doesn't make much sense!

I presume it must be a colloquial saying? Anyone out there a native French speaker who can help?

Many thanks for looking.

Help please. A gay friend has stupidly been sniffing poppers - as well as the usual "burns" under his nose, he now has a rash all over his back.

It looks to me like an allergic reaction - red raised itchy patches and a diffuse red rash.

Is this likely to be a reaction to the poppers? He claims not, but I think it is likely. Maybe someone else had the stuff on their hands and rubbed it on his back?

Anyone out there got any relevant experience?? My suggestion was he uses antihistamine cream to try and calm it all down.

Thanks.

I have been making quality greetings cards for a few months and want to try to sell them. Anyone out there had experience? How do I find good outlets? How much should I try to charge? What percentage will the shop want to take? Are car boot sales a possibility (I've never been to one!). Any suggestions welcomed. Thanks for reading this. Helen.

Hi - I have made pressed flowers the old fashioned way (blotting paper and heavy books!) but I understand it is possible to do it in a microwave much quicker. Anyone know how this is done and how long to run the microwave for? Many thanks, Helen :)

I bought Colorsport Lipstick at Fenwicks in Leicester in the 1990's but cannot trace it in shops or on-line any more. It worked brilliantly - stayed in place on the lips for hours, and one stick lasted for ages (maybe that was the problem!). I don't know if they were bought out, or went bust or what but I'd really like to find a supply.