Dear Jasminda,

My local baker calls me by my first name but I have no idea what his name is and now I feel as though I have left it too long to ask. I feel really rude just answering back with a vague greeting and he is always in the shop so I can’t ask one of the other staff. What should I do?
Mrs RP, Salt Ash

Dear Mrs RP,

I suppose I need to ask how the baker came to know your name. I’m assuming at one stage you both introduced yourselves. He remembered, and you promptly forgot. It is an easy thing to do. Some people are brilliant at remembering names and others always remember a face.

As a starting point, do you know any other people who frequent the bakery? Maybe you could ask around. Surely one of them knows this person’s name. Alternatively you could take a friend into the bakery with you and have your friend introduce themselves to the baker while you pretend to be consumed with deciding whether to buy six rum balls or a lamington slab (hint: go with the rum balls). You will then overhear his name.

The next important step is to commit it to memory so you don’t forget again. You can do this by associating the name with something. For example if his name is Peter, you can remember his name by coming up with a jingle like: Peter makes particularly pleasant pies.

Of course, if you have an issue remembering the name Peter, perhaps expecting you to retain an entire alliterative sentence is a bit presumptuous.

Carpe diem, Jasminda.