Q. As I live just over an hour away from London I usually choose to take a late train home after parties, but train fever often overshadows my enjoyment of the gatherings. This is partly because even a glance at my watch will look rude and spoil the vibe. Do you think a braille watch I could discreetly touch would be the answer?

– L.G., Fosbury, Wilts

A. Braille watches usually come with one raised bobble on the hour and another raised bobble on the minute. Hence they are easy to ‘read’ by touching. However there would be palaver involved with groping up the sleeve, and you might find beady-eyed fellow guests driving you up conversational cul-de-sacs when they spot it. Perhaps better to keep your mobile somewhere on your body. Set it on airplane mode but alarmed to throb silently when it’s time for you to leave.

Q. I have been on a few dates with a very attractive American girl who is sharing a flat with her best friend from home while they do an art course in London. The one I like is very kind and always assumes it will be fine for her flatmate to come along too, whatever we are doing, on the grounds that she doesn’t know anyone else in London and would otherwise spend the evening alone. I would get one of my friends involved to make it a foursome but the flatmate is not of the same calibre as my date. Any advice, Mary?

– Name and address withheld

A. You have clarified to me privately that the girl in question finds you attractive too, so it is not the case that she’s bringing the flatmate as a type of chaperone to pre-empt your lunging. It’s likely that the pressure to include the flatmate is coming from the flatmate and difficult to resist when two are living together. Next time you plan a date, suggest that the three of you meet first for a drink or art exhibition (the V&A stays open till 10 p.m. on Fridays), adding ‘and then you and I can go on to a late dinner together afterwards?’. The flatmate could have no grounds for complaint.

Q. I had a terrible experience at the Vermeer exhibition in Amsterdam. It was packed to the gunnels, mainly with grey-haired people taking selfies in front of the paintings, and I couldn’t get a proper look. What should I have done, Mary?

– A.C.G., London W8

A. The Vermeer ends on 4 June and is completely sold out, but you can now view it in peace in some Odeons and Picturehouses and other cinemas including the Parade in Marlborough. The way to view future oversubscribed exhibitions is to buy a ticket for the earliest entry of the day, then run straight to the last artwork and work backwards against the tide.