* Try to cross tricky borders on a weekday instead of a weekend in case you need to call the British Embassy for assistance.

Malika Browne

* If you want to do voluntary conservation work abroad, contact the country's National Parks office directly. For $7 a day (all in) I worked at several parks in Costa Rica alongside volunteers who had paid a fortune for the privilege.

Sue Coin

* To make yourself instantly popular with the locals, learn a football chant pertinent to the area. This causes great amusement and may get you free drinks. Be aware that if you choose the wrong chant, you may be lynched.

Alison Crane

* Norman Meyer is not impressed by Kevin Joynson's comment on December 30 that hand-tight wheel nuts are a recipe for disaster. "Yes they are," he writes, "but so also are the nuts done up by many compressed-air powered tools - you try and undo them on a motorway hard shoulder in the snow!" He suggests you buy a torque wrench and ensure that the hire company tightens the nuts to the manufacturers recommended torque-wrench settings.

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