I recently had expensive electrical problems with my car and the garage found that something had been chewing the wiring. The mechanic said they often see that nowadays, and it’s because the wiring is poor quality. Is this right, and how can I stop it happening again?

I like building flat-pack furniture. Not enough to actually want to spend any time in IKEA, but enough to view flat-pack as a grown up version of Airfix, with a bit of added practical value. My colleagues and I agreed this morning that it can be an enjoyable, somewhat therapeutic pastime, but doesn’t always result in furniture that possesses a great deal of structural integrity.

It was 29 May and it was a beautiful, bright, hot sunny day. Later that evening I’d be doing my favourite type of presentation, a co-presentation with mature driver ambassador and rally driving legend, Paddy Hopkirk, to South of London Advanced Motorists.

It’s a sad fact of life that solving one problem almost invariably causes another. The widespread use of diesel engines in cars has helped to reduce transport carbon dioxide emissions to combat climate change. An unwelcome side effect has been the increase in urban pollution from diesel exhausts.

According to recent RAC surveys the price of fuel has been going up by almost a penny a day in recent weeks. It seems to have steadied now but with diesel nudging into the low £1.30 a litre zone it is clear that the lower prices we have got used to may be a thing of the past - again!