Dear Queenie,

  My boyfriend and I don’t want to have a baby, but I can’t take birth-control pills so he always uses a condom, but recently the condom broke so I used a morning-after pill and I didn’t get pregnant.

  The problem is that if I did get pregnant I would refuse to have an abortion. I really didn’t like the idea of using the morning-after pill but my boyfriend insisted. And with the condom breaking we are not confident about using them either. And we really don’t want to have a baby, but if I refuse to have sex with him I’m afraid my boyfriend will break up with me.

  So Queenie, what do we do?—Scared girlfriend

Dear Girlfriend,

  There are methods of contraception that do not involve pills or condoms. Talk to a gynaecologist about the possibility of using a diaphragm or getting a hormonal ring or an IUD (intra-uterine device) implanted.

  Or you could refrain from having sex and, if your boyfriend does break up with you, find one who will not be so demanding, or who would be willing to raise a baby with you if there should be another accident.

Dear Queenie,

  A friend of mine died of cancer a couple of years ago and after her funeral some of her other friends organised a fund-raiser in her honor for the cancer society and they continue to do this every year. I think it is a great idea, but they charge a big price to attend. All the money goes to the cancer society, but it is a lot more than I can afford.

  Queenie, each year instead of going to the fund-raiser I make a donation direct to the cancer society in my friend’s memory, but what do I say to the organisers when they ask me why I never attend their events?—Not made of money

Dear Not made of money,

  Tell them what you have told me – that you respect what they are doing in your friend’s memory, but you cannot afford the price they charge for it so you honour your deceased friend by making a contribution you can afford directly to the cancer society.

Dear Queenie,

  I get a lot of emails from co-workers and a lot of them have spelling errors in them that I’m sure the e-mail program has marked, because it marks any errors that I make so I make sure to correct them before I send the e-mail.

  Queenie, why are people so careless? And should I say something to them? If they send this kind of thing to outsiders it makes our company look bad.—Perfectionist

Dear Perfectionist,

  I know exactly what you mean! You should see some of the letters and e-mails I receive!

  I am sure a person who made an error would be insulted if you pointed it out to him or her. However, if you happen to use the same word in your reply, make sure it is correctly spelled and hope the recipient notices the difference.