Joe, that "never-undo" lacing is fine until the weather changes. I need an extra half-inch on the laces in hot weather.

Another tip on boots, if you're not using Joe's "never-undo" lacing. I find that if I tighten the laces enough to give good ankle support, the "foot" section is too tight. So I tighten up the "foot" section, then tie half a knot (as if I was about to do a bow, but without the bow part), and then fasten up the ankle section. That lets me tighten the ankle section as much as I like, and still lets the foot have room to breathe.

And another tip on boots - Aqueous Nikwax is your friend. It lets you wax your boots while they're wet, which is pure magic. And when you're done with your boots, rub your laces in the left-over stuff that's dripped off the boots - that impregnates the lace fibres with a little bit of wax, which means your laces will never get waterlogged and become impossible to undo.

One for the guys. If you wash your hair with shampoo, it falls out. Seriously - the old Jasper Carrott joke of "Wash'n'go - I washed it, it went" is absolutely true! Shampoo weakens and thins your hair, and it seems to inhibit regrowth too. So, instead of washing with shampoo, just rinse it through thoroughly. Give it a few weeks and your hair really will be thicker, and your plughole and hairbrush will no longer be clogged with old hair. If it's already gone then you're probably too late, but if your hairline is just starting the march north then this may well stop its retreat. And no, it doesn't smell or turn into dreadlocks, because you're still keeping it clean by rinsing it.

The hair thing also works for women - in fact my wife started me on this when she found out that contrary to all the TV adverts, most models never use shampoo on their hair.

Graham.