Q. My son is 22. He has left Cambridge with a good degree, but also a mullet hairstyle (short and sticking out at the front and sides but long at the back). These are the key years when he could be getting a job and a girlfriend and, without the mullet, he would be exceptionally good-looking. I have begged, and even tried to bribe — to no avail. Any suggestions?
— C.J., London SW3
A. The mullet is widely agreed to be the least flattering hairstyle available. No one suits it — but some of the young wear it for ironic reasons. Your son may be cannier than you think. Girls are excited, rather than put off, by men who could be so instantly transformed. Meanwhile the mullet is a useful camouflage. Very good-looking young men with Cambridge degrees and parents living in Chelsea may do well to make themselves unattractive while they look for work. Wearing a mullet hairstyle, your son can pose as someone with so little ego that he puts irony before vanity. That may help, rather than hinder him, in the job market.
Q. I live alone these days and am aware that I can become a bit garrulous when I get out and finally have the chance to talk. How should I check myself?
— M.O’T., London W2
A. Rein yourself in by keeping a journal, as did Sir Randolph Nettleby, played by James Mason, in The Shooting Party. Sir Randolph is seen writing in a journal when a grandchild interrupts him. He explains, ‘It is always good to spend part of each day writing down your thoughts. That way you will not have to bother others with them.’
Q. When a close friend recently died, I wrote to his brother.
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