The biggest fashion revolution of the century had just hit town - the New Look. What any self-respecting Parisienne had on was a full and feminine, mid-calf-length skirt which nipped in tightly at the waist. Within weeks, she herself was whipping up a Dior-style skirt out of grey flannel, which she wore every day for the next six months. All she had were the short, mannish fashions that had dominated the war years. "I was horrified to discover that I could not wear any of the clothes I possessed," she remembers. When American Vogue's former Paris bureau chief, Susan Train, arrived in the French capital as a student in 1947, she had quite a shock.

"It disintegrates the fabric of the gum, rather than blasting or chipping away at it," he explained. In Bradford, Elizabeth Aveling, a university researcher, has concluded from tooth marks in prehistoric tar that children have been chewing gum in northern Europe since about 7000BC.. In Dublin, Richard Tyler has invented the GumBuster to rid city streets of the menace of chewing-gum. At the first set, one youth peruses the contents of the car and sticks gum on its window if he thinks it worth robbing His companion then does the job further down the road. They work in teams at successive sets of traffic lights in the town of Nezahualcoyotl. In Mexico, youths are reported to be using chewing-gum as a tool to help them rob cars. You know the Amoxycillin syrup you gave me for Jack's ear infection Would that cure gonorrhoea too?"n.

I'm sure you're doing the right thing.""Just out of interest, though. But on balance I find the weight of your argument compelling and as her health really is at risk, I feel duty bound to confess all.""Well done. `There are grounds for disclosure only where there is serious and identifiable risk to a specific individual who, if not so informed, would be exposed to infection.' ""Yes, but you don't even know if I've got the infection and as I'm never going to have the test it's irrelevant.""Well I'm not treating your wife blind and I think she needs to be fully informed and assessed urgently.""And if I tell her, she'll leave me.""Are you sure?""Yes. But I haven't got any symptoms so I must be fine.""What about an HIV test?""No thank you.""Well you did have risky sex.""Heterosexual through the usual channel.""Without protection with an unknown partner with gonorrhoea ...""I'll take that risk.""Yes, but should your wife?""You're not going to tell her are you? Confidentiality and all that.""Let's see what the GMC says. Like chlamydia, for example.""So treat her for that too.""Didn't they test you up at the clinic?""I haven't been back yet for the results.