With so many conversations now happening online, all eyes are on our decor. It may even help me find a buyer for my strange yellow filing cabinet

An awful lot is being made of what is on the bookshelves behind people who broadcast or are interviewed in their homes. Thankfully, mine are at a right angle to the computer so you cannot see any of the titles. In fact, until adjustments were made, it looked as though the shelves were completely empty, which was rather shaming. The books had to be pulled forward, to make it clear they existed, without compromising their anonymity.

I was keen to have a nod to my football team, West Bromwich Albion, in the back of shot. A scarf seemed a bit naff, and my treasured West Brom gnome just too odd. I even considered a jigsaw puzzle of the face of one of our greatest ever players, Tony “Bomber” Brown. Unfortunately Bomber, as gentle a man as you could ever meet, looks like a serial killer in this particular picture.

Continue reading...

I have always maintained a professional relationship with my two female lodgers but spending more time together recently led to a lapse in judgment

I share my house with two female lodgers. We’re all single at the moment but we have always maintained a professional relationship with each other. In the current circumstances, we are obviously spending more time together. The other week, the inevitable happened. After a few drinks, I ended up getting intimate with one of them on the sofa. The following day, she didn’t bat an eyelid but we agreed to put it down to too many beers.

The thing is, I now see her in a new light. She is 20 years younger than me and I find her sexually attractive. I’m struggling to keep that line drawn. We still have a great relationship, sharing drinks and a chinwag, but I feel different. Should I tell her how I feel and run the risk of everything going pear-shaped?

Is there any business or professiona the profit of which is not chargeable to tax?