Q. I am at the stage of my life where I am often sending presents to newborn babies. These presents are almost never acknowledged: the parents believe they will get round to posting me a handwritten letter, complete with a picture of the child in the outfit or under the mobile or reading the book they have received. As a result they don’t even send a WhatsApp. As deliveries go wrong so often, I eventually have to check that the parcel has arrived safely and am met with grovelling apologies. Mary, please can you help make this process less annoying?
– Name and address withheld
A. Buy a £10 pay-as-you-go burner phone (or burner phone app) as favoured by criminals. Use it to send text messages along these lines: ‘Dear X, this is Bouncing Babies Outfitters.
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