LIST: Five Things I Have Learned In The Last Month

(Shared in the interests of adding to the sum of human knowledge)

1. If you're going to the Tutankhamun exhibition at the Dome in London, make sure you take along a Waterstone's loyalty card, as this allows you to jump the queue (apply for a free card here).

2. As well as making beautiful beds, the customer service supplied by Warren Evans is top-notch. And I speak as one who used to work in customer service, and worked hard at being good at it.

3. However, the camlocks and the like supplied for constructing furniture purchased from Next are feeble and not fit for the job at all. My screwdriver set is far from the strongest in the land, and it broke several of the camlocks. And the instructions contain errors - how, I ask, are you supposed to put a camlock into a piece of wood if you've already screwed another bit of wood over the appropriate holes? You can't, and given that it took me more time to construct a wardrobe last weekend than it did to complete the London Marathon last year, Next will be receiving a letter of complaint in the near future. A very hoity one at that.

4. The free podcasts by Adam and Joe from BBC Radio 6 are a lot of fun, and worth your time.

5. Unless you relish the possibility of disinfectant or other people's urine on your fingers, you should always check your shoelaces are tied before entering a public lavatory.