Dear Mary: Should you flush the loo in the night when staying with friends?

Q. We live in an area with no mobile reception and trying to get hold of taxis for guests leaving late at night or early morning after a party is nerve-racking. We have only two local taxi firms, both of which stop working after 10 p.m. When taxis from outside the area try to find the house, the signal drops as they near and they can’t find us. What do you suggest? 

– A.E., Pewsey

A. Put a warning on your invitations that since taxis will be unable to find the house, guests should screenshot your enclosed map, send it as an aid to the taxi firm and agree a precise time for collection. However, as seasoned party-givers will know, many guests are too air-headed to take in such useful instructions. You might take a tip from another regular host, who lives in a signal-free area of East Sussex. She now books in (pre-paid) local youths to drive disorganised guests home to locations within 30 minutes, saying that ‘the cost to the host is not a huge amount compared with the cost of a party’.