Dear annie

Annie gave birth to her fifth child and third daughter last Sunday. This is a selection of reader replies and useful information sent in by readers that she prepared in advance. We hope to have her back next week. AB

Pauline Harran of Croydon took up the invitation to write in with info about linen-coloured ovens for P O'Donnelly (3 August). "If they don't find a linen-coloured one, they can buy a plain, cheap, white one and Blades Heating of Oxted, Surrey, (01883 713378) can enamel it any colour for about pounds 200 to pounds 300." Thanks Pauline.

Re Yvonne, Lowestoft, and her boots (20 July). Sara from Bristol (and lots of other people, too, thank you) says she thinks they're Blundstones (and with hindsight, so do I!! - think I had a bad week that week, sorry) and she gets hers from Mastershoe, 52 Bond Street, Bristol (0117 9299828), or 52 Park Street, Bristol (0117 929 2020). Finlay Macintyre from Glasgow also suggested Blundstone. So, thanks for that. I would print a nationwide enquiry number for Blundstones, but at the time of going to press it was out of action, and I see no point in that! I shall print it when it gets going again.

And P Hawkes-Reed, via e-mail, contacted me to say that Danny Bakhshi of Harrow (6 July) should try Ad Hoc in London for his pointy boots. Good idea. Ad Hoc, 4 Lancer Square, 28 Kensington Church Street, London W8 4EP (0171 938 1664).

Albert Hill from Hill Bros (11 St Nicholas Street, Bristol BS1 1UE, 0117 944 1929) e-mailed me to tell me about their shop, which sells trainers. "Basically, we deal in trainers. We stock shoes that have either not been released here in the UK or have been deleted many seasons ago. We also endeavour to get hold of a particular pair of trainers that anyone might want." So, that's a useful one for your address book.

Diana from London, via e-mail, also contacted me to let me know about Secto, a moth-repellent hanging thing that you can get from Johnny Loulous, and other places where they sell moth stuff. (For those of you who are new to this, Johnny Loulous is John Lewis, my favourite department store.) Diana reckons that it is much better than the Vapona that I recommended.

Nurhan, via e-mail, got in touch with me about Tom Taylor's quest to find a seaman's jersey (31 August). He/she suggested Force 4, a sailing shop in London's Victoria (0171 828 3900). And Alice, a sweet-sounding lady from Cambridge who knits babies' shawls, said that she can get hold of the two-ply wool and will knit him one (for a fee, I would imagine)! Isn't that kind? So, Tom, if you need Alice to do this, get in contact with me and I will pass her details on to you.

Michael, via e-mail, also contacted me with what I think is a jolly useful address: Michael's Shoe Care (he swears it has nothing to do with him), 10/12 Procter Street, London WC1V 6NX (0171 405 7436), and branches at Ludgate Hill, Liverpool Street, and Fenchurch Street. They will repair zips on bags - they did his for a flat fee of pounds 10. So, thank you Michael, your helpful advice couldn't have been more timely as I have an envelope briefcase of great sentimental value (my mother gave it to me for my fifth birthday...), and it's very smart but age has made the zip rather sorry for itself. I had meant to research it but never got round to it, in the way that plumbers never mend their own pipes, you know. So, thank you. And you'd better be telling the truth about you not having anything to do with the zip-repairing operation, or there'll be trouble.

Lots of e-mail action, n'est-ce pas?

You might be interested to know that Marks and Spencer seem be dipping their toes in the water over the question of stocking mens' trousers with 35in inside legs. They have the in 18 styles (but not all colours) at Oxford, and they say that you can order them at any branch. Thanks for being the most entertaining fashion writer around, as well as being the only one who lives on planet Earth.

Antony Moore, Oxford

Well, I had to leave that last bit in, didn't I!!! What niceness. You are right, M&S have done nine styles (you exaggerated a bit), two colours in each style, in 35in inside leg, costing from pounds 22. So, check out your local Markles and Sparkles and see if they've done them.