I'll have to try the Sudocrem -- there's a tub in the bathroom cabinet somewhere. After several years of experimentation, I finally discovered tha my own nails, flimsy as they are, are better than fingerpicks, even though they are quiter. I keep them about level with my fingertips; they work best when they are between slightly below and slightly above -- if you can make sense of that. Somebody told me ages back to try cod liver oil; somebody else told me later it's pobably the gelatin in the caps that do the trick. Whatever - I don't eat enough fish anyway, so I'll stick with 'em. Beware of overdoing the vitamin A: it can lead to osteoporosis in later life.

Steve